A cold wave hit Finland and Sweden Tuesday bringing the coldest global temperatures on record so far this winter with some in the Nordic region feeling temperatures as cold as minus 42 degrees.
A man pulls a small boat as he walks on the frozen sea in Helsinki, Finland.
In northern Sweden, thermometers showed temperatures reaching minus 42.8 degrees on Tuesday, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported.
The cold spell led train operator Vy Tåg in Sweden to cancel all passenger trains north of Umeå, Sweden, until Thursday when temperatures are expected to rise again, SVT reported.
The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute has issued snow and wind warnings for central and southern Sweden as well as warnings about moderate to severe icing of ships in a handful of waterways including the North Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland.
In Finland, the Finnish Meteorological Institute recorded temperatures as low as minus 36 in the northern part of the country on Tuesday.
Similarly, Finland faces warnings of extremely cold temperatures for the rest of the week that could exceed 40 below zero in some areas, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
It’s not just Sweden and Finland seeing severe weather conditions as a result of the cold wave, with Norway experiencing large amounts of snow. Agder, located in southern Norway, has seen upwards of 27 inches of snow causing school closures and warnings from police for residents not to drive on the roads, according to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, NRK.
A man gets out of the icy sea and climbs on the pier after his winter swimming in Helsinki, Finland, ... [+]
People remove snow from a car in a street in Kristiansand, Norway, where more than two feet of snow ... [+]
A man walks at the Allas Sea Pool in Helsinki, Finland, as the region sees the coldest temperatures ... [+]
Garbage collectors trek through deep snow to collect trash in Oslo, Norway, as snow continues to ... [+]
Tourists take pictures in Vigelandsparken covered in snow in Oslo, Norway.
Finland And Sweden Set This Winter’s Cold Records As Temperature Plummets Below Minus 40 (Associated Press)