A man walks through snow covered banks of the Danube river in Zemun near Belgrade on February 12, 2012. Cold weather claimed seven more lives on Sunday in the Balkans -- two in Albania, one in Serbia and Bosnia respectively, while three more victims of an avalanche that buried several houses in a southern Kosovo village were found.
London (CNN) -- Eastern and central Europe continue to shiver under a blanket of heavy snow Friday, with more deaths reported after bitter cold overnight temperatures.
Ukraine is probably the worst affected, with Poland, Romania, Serbia and Belarus also suffering much more severe winter conditions than usual.
Thirty-eight people have died of hypothermia in Ukraine over the past 24 hours, the state-run news agency Ukrinform reported Friday morning, citing government ministries.
The latest deaths take the total number killed in Ukraine in the cold spell that started January 27 to 101, the news agency said.
Meanwhile, temperatures in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, continue to plummet. Friday morning's lows dipped to 27 degrees below zero Celsius (17 degrees below zero Fahrenheit), and it was the ninth day in a row that temperatures had dropped below minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Temperatures hit record lows in Romania
European temperatures plummet
Twenty-nine people had died in Poland as of Thursday, according to the publicly funded Polish Radio's news website.
Other cold-related deaths have been reported in Serbia, Romania and elsewhere in the past week.
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Joe Lowry, spokesman for the International Red Cross Europe Zone, said many people across the region are in urgent need of help.
"If 163 people have frozen to death on the European streets, it is a disaster," he told CNN.
The homeless and elderly are among the most vulnerable, Lowry said, as well as those who often find themselves on the margins of society, such as alcoholics or people with mental health issues.
He said the Red Cross is helping people by providing warm clothing, boots, hot drinks and food, as well as shelter in heated tents and moral support. Local authorities must also react effectively to the crisis to save lives, he said.
The sudden start to the bitter cold weather after what had been a mild winter for some parts of Eastern Europe caught many people unaware, Lowry said.
He added: "The human body is not designed to withstand temperatures of -32 degrees Celsius (about -25 degrees Fahrenheit). If you are not well nourished, if you don't have the right clothes to wear, if you don't have shelter, you cannot possibly stand them for long."
The International Red Cross has released just over €108,000 ($141,000) from its disaster relief fund to help deal with the emergency, with about one-third going to Belarus and two-thirds to Ukraine, an online statement says.
More funds are needed to help pay for supplies, fuel for volunteers' vehicles and publicity to get information out to those in need, Lowry added.
CNN meteorologist Mari Ramos said the challenge now faced by many people is that the cold spell is lasting so long.
The first reports of heavy snow came from Romania on January 26, Ramos said. Now, although temperatures are becoming more moderate, the snowfall will be very heavy, particularly for Bosnia, Serbia, Hungary and Romania. Some areas could get an additional half meter (20 inches) of snow.
Ramos advises people to be "weather aware" in how they dress, making use of layers and keeping dry if at all possible. In extreme temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) or lower, exposed skin can freeze in less than 30 minutes, she said -- and even faster if clothing is wet.
People should wear a hat and gloves, and cover their ears, nose and mouth to help them regulate their temperature, she said.
A state of emergency has now been declared in 23 municipalities in Serbia because of the snow, the state-run news agency Tanjug reported Friday.
Six people have died from the cold in Serbia, and one is missing and presumed dead, the news agency Tanjug quoted emergencies official Predrag Maric, of the country's interior ministry, as saying Thursday.
About 11,500 people have been cut off from the world by heavy snowfall, Maric told the agency.
Europe's cold blast extends all the way to Africa, with rare snow falling in parts of the Sahara Desert in Algeria and Morocco, said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller. More snow is expected this weekend for some areas that see snow fewer than once a decade.
Cold and snow warnings stretch from Portugal to Finland, with 25 countries posting warnings, Miller said.
It's been snowing in central Italy for almost a week and there is more forecast for the next two days.
Ferrari's plans to unveil a new car for the 2012 Formula One season Friday were dashed by heavy snowfall at the Italian team's Maranello factory.
The legendary brand had planned to showcase the new car, which they hope will win them a first drivers' championship since 2007.
Eastern England will see significant snowfall this weekend, including London which could see 5 to 10 centimeters (2 to 4 inches) accumulate.
Temperatures will rebound this weekend in Eastern Europe, but a significant snowstorm will make travel conditions treacherous from the Aegean Sea all the way to Moscow, Miller added.
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A picture taken on February 11, 2012 shows the frozen Damse Vaart in Damme. For the 13th consecutive day, temperatures in Belgium were below zero degrees Celsius. This is the longest cold wave for Belgium since 1941.
Mist rises from the partially frozen Great Ouse river on February 11, 2012 in Huntingdon, England. The Met Office recorded the coldest temperature so far this winter with -16C registered in Holbeach, Lincolnshire.
People walk on the frozen Aussenalster river during the 'Alstervergnuegen' on February 11, 2012 in Hamburg, Germany. The very popular annual city festival 'Alstervergnuegen' takes place around the Alster lake in Hamburg.
People walk on the frozen lake Zwischenahner Meer in Bad Zwischenahn, near Oldenburg, northern Germany, where blocks of ice have been cut out.
The castle and the old bridge are seen over the frozen river Neckar in Heidelberg, southwestern Germany, on February 12, 2012. Temperatures remain cold in Germany as the death toll from Europe's big freeze rose past 550.
Lighthouse and lampposts are covered with heavy ice in central Adriatic Croatian port of Senj, some 200 kilometres from Zagreb, as the sun sets on February 8, 2012. There are more than 100 villages still trapped by snow in remote, mountain parts in Croatia.
Bobsleigh riders walk at a small hill in the Olympic park in Munich, southern Germany, on February 7, 2012.
A man walks past concrete steles of the Monument for the Murdered Jews of Europe after fresh snowfall on February 9, 2012 in Berlin.
A woman sporting a fur hat walks in the center of Ukrainian capital of Kiev on February 9, 2012. Helicopters ferried food and medicine to iced-in villagers Wednesday as the cold snap tightened its frigid grip on the continent.
A man walks with his dogs next to Queen's Mere pond in the snow on Wimbledon common on February 10, 2012 in London, England. The Met Office cold weather alert remains at Level 3 as southern parts of England continue to suffer from cold weather and freezing conditions, with further snowfall overnight.
People skate on a frozen pond in Prague on February 6, 2012. Meteorologists this morning measured minus 39.4 degrees Celsius, the coldest temperature of this winter, in Kvilda village, in the South Bohemian Sumava mountains.
A picture taken on February 6, 2012 shows horses in a field covered with snow in the Corsican village of Cognocoli-Monticchi. In France, 39 of the country's 101 regions were on alert for deep cold or snow, down from more than half the regions at the weekend.
A monument is covered with snow in Kiev on February, 6, 2012 after heavy snowfalls in Ukraine. Ukraine on Monday blamed alcohol abuse as the main cause of deaths caused by a spell of abnormally cold weather that has claimed at least 135 lives over the last 10 days.
A man walks under an umbrella during a snowfall in downtown Skopje on February 6, 2012.
A man takes pictures of a Bartholdi fountain covered by ice on February 6, 2012 on Terraux square in Lyon, eastern France. In France, 39 of the country's 101 regions were on alert for deep cold or snow, down from more than half the regions at the weekend.
A dog plays in the icy Elbe River on Monday, February 6, in Hamburg, Germany. The Arctic cold snap in Europe has claimed nearly 300 lives, brought air travel chaos to London, and dumped snow as far south as Rome and even North Africa.
People walk through a park in Burgos as snow hits northern Spain on Sunday.
A man snowboards Sunday in Caen, France. Seventy-five French departments were under medium range (orange) alert for snow and ice Monday.
A frozen fountain stands in front of Buckingham Palace in London on Sunday. Heavy snow fell overnight across southeast England, causing many roads to become blocked.
iReporter Fabrizio Buzzi sent this shot taken in central Rome on Saturday. "People go out to enjoy the experience as snow is a rare sight in Rome," says Buzzi.
iReporter John Pe shot this photo of the streets of Rome blanketed by heavy snowfall. He said local residents have "gotten their snow gear and have taken to the slopes!"
Snow paralyzes traffic in Bucharest, Romania, on Monday.
Ice accumulates in the Trocadero fountain in Paris, as France faces low temperatures.
A man walks past an ice-covered car Sunday on the frozen waterside promenade at Lake Geneva in Versoix, Switzerland.
Two girls sled down the hill Sunday in London's Alexandra Park.
People stand in snow Saturday in front of the Colosseum in Rome.
A man puts snowchains on his car Saturday in Rome. Heavy snowfall caused the Italian capital to grind to a halt.
A boy and his mother skate on the partly frozen Elbe River on Thursday as the skyline of Dresden, Germany, is silhouetted in the background.
A man pets a dog next to frozen sea waters in Constanta, Romania, on Wednesday. Temperatures plunged to -34 degrees Celsius (-29 degrees Fahrenheit) in central Romania.
People walk on an ice-covered dam next to frozen Black Sea waters near Bucharest on Wednesday.
A man is seen through an icy window Wednesday on a tram in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, temperatures dropped to -22 degrees Celsius (-8 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday. The cold temperatures were blamed for at least 31 deaths in the country.
A skier takes advantage of the unusual snowfall in Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday. The snow paralyzed daily life there.
An ice fisherman waits for a catch on a frozen lake near Sofia on January 30.
Animal lovers helped remove the snow that covered the "second chance" dog shelter outside Glina, Romania on January 28.
Bulgarian women walk through heavy snow January 28 in Rakovski.
A man clears snow off a vehicle in Sofia on January 27.
Freshly plowed snow frames a road in Bucharest on January 27.
A dog takes shelter from a blizzard in Catelu, Romania, on January 26.
Pedal-boats and canoes sit in frozen water in Stockholm, Sweden, on January 26.
iReporter Cosmin Stan sent in this photo from Bucharest on January 26. "The problem was not the quantity of the snow, but the strong winds," he told CNN.
Skiers make their way through the snow near Oberhof, Germany, on January 25.
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