Homeless Shelters Buckling Down for Cold Snap
Heavy snows and plummeting temperatures have prompted Tallinn's social services to start operating the capital's homeless shelters in "winter mode," making all their beds available and preparing to find more space if necessary.
The autumn weather had remained relatively mild until last week when a prolonged period of snowfall left a cover measuring more than 45 centimetres in some areas of the country. Though extreme temperatures such as the -22 degrees Celsius reported in central Estonia over the weekend are expected to abate, a representative of the Meteorological and Hydrological Institute told rus.err.ee that cold nights and snowfalls would continue in coming days.
Additional beds were added to Tallinn's shelters this year, putting their total capacity at 600.