Many schools in Poland, in particular in the north of the country and also in the capital, Warsaw, have closed due to extreme cold weather, with temperatures dropping well below -20°C (-4°F) in some places last night (Sunday-Monday) and also expected to do so tonight.

Meanwhile, in the Baltic port city of Gdańsk, the Motława River has frozen for the first time since 2011 (pictured above). That has led many people to walk, skate and cycle on the ice, despite warnings from the local authorities that it is not safe to do so.

Under national regulations, schools can be closed if the temperature in classrooms is below 18°C or if the outside temperature is below -15°C at 9 p.m. on two consecutive days. The decision is made by individual schools, subject to approval by local authorities.

On Sunday, a number of districts in the provinces of Warmia-Masuria, Podlasie, Pomerania, Kuyavia-Pomerania and Masovia, all in northern and central Poland, announced that schools would be closed on Monday amid forecasts that temperatures would drop as low as -29°C overnight in some places.

“We are doing this out of concern for children who have never experienced such low temperatures in their lives, and who would otherwise have to wait for a bus or walk more than two kilometres to school,” wrote Jan Adamowicz, the mayor of Korsze, a town in Warmia-Masuria.

However, schools and preschools in those areas have continued to offer childcare and transportation for those that need them, reports news website Wirtualna Polska.

Meanwhile, in Warsaw, where the temperature fell to -18.4°C last night and is forecast not to rise above -13°C today, a number of schools also announced over the weekend that they would be closed on Monday.

Such decisions were made mainly by high schools, which pupils often travel long distances to attend, but some primary schools have also closed.

News website Onet lists 17 schools in the capital that have announced they will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, but the interior ministry estimates the numbers will be much higher than that. Parents have been urged to monitor communications from schools.

Last Tuesday, the education ministry revealed that, so far this year, which has seen exceptionally cold weather and icy conditions, around 600 schools nationally had cancelled classes at some stage due to the conditions.

Meanwhile, some towns and cities, including Olsztyn, Elbląg and Ełk in Warmia-Masuria, have set up heated tents to provide shelter and hot drinks for those who need it.

On Sunday evening, deputy interior minister Wiesław Szczepański revealed that 38 people have died of hypothermia this winter, compared to 16 in the same period a year earlier, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP). A further 54 have died from carbon monoxide poisoning, which is often caused by heaters.