The record value was registered at 05:57 a.m. at the Athalassa radiosonde station and beat the previous low of -3.3 degrees Celsius on March 1, 1985.

This is the lowest temperature recorded at the station since its construction in 1983.
The freezing conditions were part of a wider cold snap affecting the whole of Cyprus, with sub-zero temperatures reported overnight in several locations across Cyprus.

Weather services have issued warnings of potentially dangerous conditions, particularly in mountainous and inland areas, as the cold spell continues.

Nicosia reaches temperatures like Warsaw and becomes the coldest capital in Southern Europe

Nicosia is currently experiencing unusually cold weather, with temperatures comparable to those in northern European capitals, while a cold snap has Cyprus firmly in its grip.

The Coral weather phenomenon has caused temperatures in Nicosia to drop to 7 degrees Celsius today, which is exactly the same as the temperature in Warsaw , the capital of Poland, making Nicosia the coldest capital in Southern Europe .

A comparison with temperatures in other European capitals underlines the exceptional nature of this cold spell in Nicosia:

Snow reaches Nicosia, Larnaca and Limassol as the 'Coral' cold wave shows its teeth.

Snow fell in the mountainous and semi-mountainous regions of Cyprus on Saturday as a cold front named "Coral" reached the island, prompting authorities to issue an orange weather warning .

The Meteorological Office warned that temperatures in mountainous regions could drop to -11 degrees Celsius , accompanied by widespread frost overnight.

The first snowfall was reported in various areas of the Limassol, Nicosia and Larnaca districts . Local residents shared video footage of the winter weather conditions on social media.

The orange warning - the second highest level of alert - remained in force from 22:00 on Saturday until 08:00 on Sunday . Authorities urged the population, especially in mountainous areas, to avoid unnecessary travel as conditions could be dangerous . Travel to the Trodos Mountains was discouraged and, if done, only with winter tires or four-wheel drive.

Cyprus is preparing for record low temperatures in the coming days.

Despite the particularly low temperatures throughout Cyprus, students in some schools are still prohibited from staying in classrooms or other indoor spaces during recess. The media house philenews pointed out this problem after complaints from parents.

Philenews recently received a complaint from parents, including teachers, that students at a gymnasium in the Larnaca district were not allowed to stay in the classrooms from the first break onwards, despite the bitter cold.

In one case, we were informed that a particular student would be particularly at risk if he caught a cold.

It should be noted that yesterday, too, the children at this school were not allowed to stay in the classrooms during recess and had no heating for several hours because there was no heating oil. According to reports from parents, the heating only came on hours later.

This issue is not isolated to this particular school. We have been informed that it is occurring at other schools as well.

Please note that there are no guidelines from the Ministry of Education in this regard and schools make their own decisions in this regard.

Typical arguments include the need to clean and ventilate classrooms during breaks, the need for students to socialize in the schoolyard, and the issue of securing students' personal belongings in their bags in the classroom.

Therefore, when students remain in the classroom, they require the supervision of a teacher.

Author:MF_Editorial
Sources: philenews; Meteorological Office