Finland and Sweden have recorded the coldest temperatures of the winter so far with thermometers falling to minus 40C (minus 40F), or even lower, as the countries remained in the grip of the Nordic cold snap.

The temperature dropped to minus 41.6C (minus 42.8F) in Nikkaluokta, a small village in northern Sweden, on Tuesday, Swedish public broadcaster SVT said.

Several other areas of the same region have seen minus 30C (minus 22F), according to the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute.

SVT meteorologist Nils Holmqvist said: “It’s the coldest temperature we have had so far this winter, and it will continue to be quite cold weather in the north.”

The freezing conditions have caused substantial problems for train travel in the north, Swedish rail operators said, among other issues.

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And it may be about to get worse, as the institute has issued its second-highest warning for snow and wind from midnight into Wednesday.

In neighbouring Finland, the coldest reading of its winter so far was recorded in the northwestern town of Ylivieska where the temperature fell to minus 37.8C (minus 36F) early on Tuesday. It dropped to lower than minus 30C (minus 22F) in parts of the Arctic Lapland region.

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Helsinki won’t escape either, with temperatures of between minus 15C (5F) and minus 20C (minus 4F) expected in the Finnish capital all this week.

But the Finnish Meteorological Institute has warned it could be much colder in parts of the country, with temperatures getting even lower than minus 40C (minus 40F).

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In southern Norway, a section of the E18 highway was closed due to a weather-related situation, police said on X.

In Denmark, the Danish Road Directorate said it had closed a key bridge to vehicles with light trailers because of strong winds that can affect driving.

Heavy snow was expected over the northern part of the country, according to the Danish Meteorological Institute.

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