Meteorologists predict that the severe cold weather in Europe, which is the worst in decades, may continue until the end of February. This could result in more deaths and a prolonged increase in gas prices. According to Leon Brown from The Weather Channel in Britain, although there may be a change in weather by mid-February, it is unlikely to become milder. The cold temperatures and heavy snowfall have already caused hundreds of deaths in Europe, with temperatures dropping to nearly minus 40 degrees Celsius in some eastern countries. More than 130 villages in Bulgaria were still without electricity on Wednesday, with the army providing food and medicines, according to the Defence Ministry. The country declared a day of mourning for eight people who died in a flood caused by melting snow. The European Union's crisis response chief warned that the worst of the flooding was yet to come. In Bosnia, five more deaths from cold and snow were reported on Wednesday, bringing the total to 13. Authorities in Serbia are advising residents to clear icicles from roofs following a tragic incident in Belgrade where a woman was killed by falling ice. Due to heavy snowfall, 13 people have died and 70,000 are stranded. In addition, ice is causing issues in hydro-power plants and coal trains in Serbia, with demand for electricity increasing. Strong winds in Croatia have resulted in fish being deposited on the island of Pag, prompting locals to collect them from the shore instead of going fishing or to the market. A prolonged cold spell, caused by cold polar air from northern Russia, has kept warmer weather from moving in across Europe, leading to sub-zero temperatures in many parts of the continent for the past 10 days. Officials from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva this week did not dismiss the possibility of cold temperatures continuing through the rest of February. Omar Baddour, who oversees the WMO's climate data monitoring program, mentioned that there could be a chance of the pressure system starting to lift next week, but also warned that it could persist until the end of the month. The "negative Arctic oscillation", which is causing the freezing weather due to a difference in pressure between Europe and the Arctic, is predicted to take two or three weeks to return to normal levels, meaning an early thaw may not occur. While the high-pressure system itself is not uncommon, the sudden drop in temperatures after a period of mild weather has surprised experts. "The way this winter has unfolded is quite unique and somewhat perplexing," Brown added. "It's rare for such a sudden development to occur and for it to persist as a significant barrier towards the end of January and February," stated Georg Mueller, a forecaster at Point Carbon, a Thomson Reuters company. According to Mueller, the current cold spell is the most intense one to occur in February in 26 years, with the last similarly severe cold weather happening in 1986. The large Siberian blocking pattern currently in place has made it challenging to predict its movements, explained Brown. "In this case, the substantial blockage of cold air appeared to influence the behavior of the winds, rather than vice versa," he added. "We were surprised by how long the cold block stayed and how it then moved to the west," Brown stated. Computer models are struggling to predict when the system will clear out of Europe. The cold weather has caused British gas prices to soar, reaching their highest levels since 2006, surpassing 100 pence per therm on Tuesday, a rise of over 15 percent. Russia reduced gas exports to Europe last week due to record-high demand, leading countries like Italy to boost imports from Algeria and use stored gas. Prolonged cold weather and increased domestic demand may result in Russia cutting its exports to Europe once again.