Winter weather around the northern hemisphere – in pictures

A train makes its way through the snow-covered forest of Harz national park near Schierke, Germany Photograph: Jens Schlueter/AP

A woman peers through an icy window on a tram in Sofia, Bulgaria Photograph: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images

Reed sprouts are covered with thick ice at lake Zwischenahner Meer, Germany Photograph: David Hecker/AP

People skate, sledge and walk on the frozen Hron river in Zvolen, Slovakia Photograph: isifa/Getty Images

A cyclist in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, where the temperature dropped to -49.9C Photograph: Rex Features

A cat crouches in snow in Tourzel, France Photograph: Thierry Zoccolan/AFP/Getty Images

A woman walks in a blizzard in Catelu, Romania Photograph: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images

A man and his dog climb steps covered with snow in Utrecht, in the Netherlands Photograph: EPA

A fisherman stands on a frozen lake near Sofia, Bulgaria Photograph: Vassil Donev/EPA

Snow covers the rooftops of buildings in the old centre of Utrecht, in the Netherlands Photograph: Ilvy Njiokiktjien/AFP/Getty Images

A woman stands beside a the frosted window of a subway entrance in Bucharest, Romania Photograph: Robert Ghement/EPA

Snow falls in Istanbul, Turkey Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images

Coots search for food on the frozen lake of Eymir, Turkey Photograph: Selcan Hacaoglu/AP

Skiers walk up to Wendelstein church near Bayrischzell, Germany Photograph: Lukas Barth/AP

A pedestrian walks along a snow-covered street in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan Photograph: Reuters

A cemetery covered by snow in Lyon, France Photograph: Fayolle Pascal/Rex Features

A man looks through a frosty window on a tram in Sofia Photograph: Valentina Petrova/AP

A woman walks through the Cimetiere des Rois in Geneva, Switzerland Photograph: Salvatore Di Nolfi/AP

A man shovels snow at a park in Turin, Italy Photograph: Di Marco/EPA

People walk in a snow shower on Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul, Turkey Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images

Birds fly over a frozen lake in a park in Bucharest, Romania Photograph: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images

An Orthodox Christian cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine Photograph: Efrem Lukatsky/AP