A red alert was issued in the United Kingdom on Thursday and people were urged to stay indoors ahead of the arrival of Storm Emma. The blizzard from Siberia, dubbed the “Beast from the East”, caused temperatures in Europe to plunge to minus seven degrees Celsius.

Schools and colleges have been asked to remain closed on Thursday and Friday. Road transport, rail and flight operations were disrupted on Wednesday and Thursday, the coldest days in Britain in the last three decades, Reuters reported.

The National Grid in the UK has warned that it may not have enough gas to meet the demand on Thursday, BBC reported. Demand for gas on Wednesday hit a six-year high.

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“At 5.45 am this morning, we issued a ‘Gas Deficit Warning’ to the market,” a spokesperson for the National Grid said. “This is an indication to the market that we’d like more gas to be made available to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the national gas network.”

Snow-covered Richmond Park in London. (Image credit: Toby Melville/Reuters)
A street in south London blanketed in snow. (Image credit: Andrew Winning/Reuters)
A council worker breaks the ice on the fountain in Trafalgar Square in London on Thursday. (Image credit: Henry Nicholls/Reuters)

Meanwhile, Ireland is bracing for massive snowfall. The government has issued a red alert as heavy overnight snowfall led to accumulations of five to 10 cm in Dublin. The government asked people to stay indoors between 4 pm on Thursday and Friday noon as the weather is expected to be very severe.

People walk through snow at the Phoenix Park in Dublin. (Image credit: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

Pictures also showed the sea at Bembridge Harbour on the east coast of the Isle of Wight frozen. Locals in Somerset shared pictures of the beach at Weston-super-Mare covered in ice.

Deer huddle during snowfall in Richmond Park in London. (Image credit: Toby Melville/Reuters)