Meteorologists warn that this winter in Greece will be exceptionally cold and is expected to be the coldest winter of the past decade. So far other Balkan countries have had a preview of the weather to come with snowfall documented as early as the 22nd of October.

In recent years the winters have been somewhat mild, with limited instances of snowfall in the urban areas. This year though the temperatures are set to drop, with eastern parts of Europe preparing for some polar temperatures, as anticyclones entrench themselves in the west of the continent.

Similar meteorological conditions occurred in 1988, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2008, when winter temperatures were rather low; in 1988, 2001 and 2004 the conditions were unusually extreme throughout December to February.

With temperatures in Siberia already reaching -30 degrees Celsius, meteorologists speculate that the temperature will begin to drop in mid November and December.