Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it wasn’t built for snow, either.
In fact, the Italian capital had seen white powder only once in the past 33 years, until Monday.
That’s when thermostats at the Vatican dipped below freezing, shocking priests and nuns who got stuck in the snow. Even the army had to be called in to help clear the Roman streets, Reuters reported.
But the Romans aren’t the only ones shaking in their bitterly-cold boots. Across Europe, people are dealing with a blast of cold air this week, as a so-called “Beast from the East” moves across Europe, bringing chilly, extreme weather in from Siberia.
Scientists are pointing out that it's all part of a disturbing trend: the polar jet stream has been acting weird lately, and the North Pole is actually warmer than parts of Europe this week.
Meteorologist Eric Holthaus called it a "shocking sign of our Earth's accelerating planetary fever."
Take a look at how Italy looks in the snow:
Roman temperatures normally never dip below zero.
The average low temperature for February should be 3.5 degrees Celsius or 38 Fahrenheit, while the high is typically near 13 Celsius or 55 Fahrenheit, according to the World Meteorological Association.
But on Monday, the temperature in the city dropped below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, or -7 Celsius.
More than four inches of snow fell in four hours at the airport, Reuters reported.
The city ground to a halt, closing schools and urging residents to stay home.
Roman city officials asked places more used to seeing snow if they could borrow snow plows, according to Reuters.
The last time the city saw real snow like this was in 2012, which was Rome's first fresh powder dusting in nearly three decades.
That's when a blistering cold snap killed hundreds of people across Europe.
This week, the World Meteorological Association (WMO) is issuing cold weather warnings across the European continent once again.
“This cold period ... could be a risk to life for vulnerable people exposed to the cold,” the WMO said.
Source: Reuters
The cold blasts didn't stop these tourists from pausing to snap a selfie in front of the Spanish Steps.
And this priest couldn't resist a rare chance to hurl a snowball from St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican.
Other priests just marveled at the highly unusual sight.
The abnormally chilly European temperatures are one indicator that the world's climate is in chaos.
Climate scientist Robert Rohde from Berkeley pointed out on Twitter that temperatures across the Arctic have also been going haywire recently, averaging 54 degrees Fahrenheit higher (+30 Celsius) than normal.
Pope Francis recently blasted climate change deniers, saying: "Those who deny this must go to the scientists and ask them. They speak very clearly."
Source: National Catholic Reporter
The Pope also said "history will judge" those who don't take action on climate change.
Aboard the papal plane in September, the pope said politicians have a "moral responsibility" to do their part to fight the planet's shifting temperatures, which are a consequence of the greenhouse gases emitted by humans' burning of fossil fuels.
"When you don't want to see, you don't see," the Pope said.
The freeze, fueled by a flip-flop-like disturbance in the Arctic jet stream, is expected to continue across Europe in the coming days.
