Kittila, Finland: Thousands of tourists have been stranded in northern Finland after flights at Kittila Airport were cancelled due to extreme weather.
Temperatures at the airport dropped to -37°C on January 11 morning following several days of similarly Arctic conditions, making aircraft de-icing and other operations difficult. Stranded British travellers may have the chance to return home on January 12 afternoon, when flights to Manchester and London are scheduled.
However, forecasts from the Met Office indicate that temperatures will still be around -28°C at that time. Kittila is located in Finnish Lapland, in the sparsely populated north of the country.
Even residents accustomed to extreme weather have been affected by this year’s unusually extreme cold, which has impacted broad areas across northern, central, and eastern Europe. Heavy snowfall, strong winds, and icy roads have made travel hazardous throughout the continent.
In Germany, train passengers faced long delays and cancellations after heavy snowfall prompted rail operator Deutsche Bahn to suspend all long-distance services in northern Germany. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous western state, authorities announced that all schools would remain closed on January 12 and switch to online classes due to icy conditions.
In the Baltic countries, authorities have also issued warnings: drivers in Estonia and Lithuania were urged to postpone all non-essential travel due to expected blizzards, while Latvia issued a snow alert for the country’s western regions.
Globally, extreme weather continues to affect multiple regions. In Australia, smoke from the Longwood bushfire was seen in central Victoria on Jan. 9, 2026, as the country battles bushfires during a severe heatwave, prompting a ‘state of disaster’ declaration.
In California, US, heavy rains from an atmospheric river have caused flooding on roads including the 134 freeway in Burbank. These extreme weather events underscore the challenges posed by extreme conditions across Europe, North America, and Australia, affecting transportation, public safety, and daily life.
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