ANKARA – A cold wave that hit Turkey on Wednesday brought heavy snowfalls that paralysed traffic and shut schools in the capital and disrupted road and air travel in other cities. Ankara was buried in 50 centimetres (20 inches) of snow which fell for a second day, snarling traffic despite a major clearance operation.
Schools were closed and residents had difficulty making the journey to work with road and rail links between Ankara and several nearby towns cut off.
The snowfall in Ankara was the heaviest for 10 years, meteorologists said, quoted by TV channels. In at least five more cities, schools were closed due to heavy snowfalls.
Some flights were delayed but none were cancelled at Ankara Esenboga Airport, officials told to Anatolia news agency, although a number of flights from Istanbul to other domestic cities and abroad were cancelled. Major roads in downtown Istanbul remained open, although some side-streets on the Asian side of the city were closed down due to snow and high winds forced the cancellation of some ferry services.
City officials said about 3,000 employees worked non-stop to keep the traffic flowing in Istanbul, with a population of more than 12 million people. Roads to hundreds of villages around Turkey were also blocked due to snow. Two fishermen have been missing since Tuesday due to storms on Lake Manyas in northwestern Turkey, an official from Balikesir province told to news channel NTV.
Izmir and Antalya, two major cities of Turkey, known with their warm climate, are also affected by snowfalls.
