Photo: Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe

BRUSSELS, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Adverse weather conditions, including heavy snowfall and freezing rain, caused widespread disruption to air and rail traffic, school closures and warnings of icy roads across Europe on Wednesday. Extreme weather conditions, including heavy snowfall and freezing rain, affected many countries across Europe on Wednesday, causing flight cancellations and delays and disruption to road traffic.

In Belgium, departures from Brussels Zaventem Airport were temporarily suspended this afternoon due to the need to clear snow-covered runways. Most flights were delayed by about an hour and some were cancelled, including flights to Frankfurt and Munich, airport authorities said.

Heavy snowfall in Brussels at midday caused traffic jams on the Brussels ring road. The Belgian public transport network Transport en Commun was also disrupted. In Liege and Charleroi, most buses were out of service on Wednesday.

A wave of frost has arrived in Belgium and the Royal Meteorological Institute predicts that temperatures will drop to minus 10 degrees Celsius or below later this week. It has issued a yellow warning of freezing rain and slippery roads in many parts of the country.

In Limburg, a province in the south-east of the country, heavy snow is causing long traffic jams on the motorways and local authorities have issued urgent appeals to motorists to avoid the motorways. The snowfall, which can reach up to 15 centimetres, is expected to continue in Limburg on Wednesday, the KNMI said.

The Dutch traffic association ANWB reported 35 traffic jams on 155 km of Dutch roads on Wednesday morning. During the day, train services were halved on the route between Utrecht and Sittard due to snow cover. Dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

In Luxembourg, all schools were closed on Wednesday after the national emergency headquarters issued a red alert on Tuesday due to freezing rain and heavy snowfall. The government advised all residents to stay indoors "unless it is absolutely necessary to go out".

Extreme weather conditions have also affected large parts of Germany, causing widespread disruption to road, air and rail transport and prompting school closures.

Germany's National Weather Service has warned of "partly extreme weather conditions" in central and southern regions with heavy snowfall set to continue until Thursday.

The country's largest airport in Frankfurt am Main had to cancel more than 600 flights and all air traffic was halted at midday.

Local media reported that flights were cancelled in Frankfurt because planes could no longer be safely de-iced and snow-covered ramps made landing impossible.

Munich Airport in southern Germany was expecting to cancel about 254 flights, but about 410 flights and landings were still scheduled. "The winter operating mode is on, so one runway is always open for flight traffic this morning," a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Rail traffic was also restricted, with operator Deutsche Bahn warning of cancellations and delays on regional and long-distance lines. As a "precautionary measure", the maximum speed of high-speed ICE trains was reduced to 200 kilometres per hour.

Snowfall and icy roads caused accidents and traffic jams on many routes, with several injuries reported. According to German media reports, one motorway had to be completely closed after a lorry ran off the road and crashed into the barriers.

In some districts and towns, classes were canceled at noon and some schools were closed altogether.

Heavy snowfall also wreaked havoc in northern Europe, where Oslo's main airport was closed on Wednesday afternoon. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute warned of "very heavy snowfall and strong winds" in eastern coastal areas, including Oslo, and said the extreme weather conditions would persist.

Norwegian rail operator Bane Nor has cancelled all train services in eastern Norway until further notice. Public transport operator Ruter has announced significant delays and cancellations on buses, trams, subways and ferries.

Swedish authorities have also declared a high alert due to a snowstorm that was expected to hit most of the country on Wednesday afternoon. Heavy snowfall in the morning caused a plane to skid off its taxiway at Gothenburg airport and blocked many roads in the south-western region.

In addition, the Swedish state railway company SJ has cancelled many trains until the beginning of March due to heavy snowfall and unusually cold weather this winter.

Since the beginning of January, Sweden has been hit by two snowstorms and temperatures in the northern part of the country have dropped below minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Xinhua/GN:EN-JaV_07