Meteorologists are warning that the severe cold spell in Europe, the worst in decades, may continue until the end of February. This could lead to more deaths and a prolonged increase in gas prices. Leon Brown, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel in Britain, stated that while there may be a change in weather by mid-February, it will likely remain cold until the end of the month. The cold weather and heavy snowfall have already caused numerous fatalities across 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 medicine, according to the Defence Ministry. The country declared a day of mourning for eight people who died when a dam burst due to melting snow, causing a village to flood. Two individuals are still missing. Kristalina Georgieva, the European Union's crisis response chief, warned that the worst of the flooding in Bulgaria was yet to come. In Bosnia, authorities confirmed five more deaths from cold and snow on Wednesday, bringing the total to 13. In Serbia, where 13 individuals have passed away and 70,000 are stranded due to snow, officials are advising citizens to clear icicles from rooftops following a tragic incident in Belgrade where a woman was killed by falling ice. A Serbia energy official noted that electricity demand has increased significantly, but ice has been hindering production at hydro-power plants and causing difficulties for coal trains. Meanwhile, a Croatian radio station reported that strong winds have carried fish from the Adriatic sea to the island of Pag, prompting locals to collect fish from the shore instead of going fishing or to the market. Cold polar air from northern Russia, combined with high pressure, has prevented warmer weather from reaching Europe, resulting in below-freezing temperatures across the continent for the past 10 days. Officials from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva this week did not rule out the possibility of cold temperatures persisting for the remainder of February. Omar Baddour, who oversees the WMO's climate data monitoring program, indicated that there is a chance the pressure system could start to lift next week, but warned that it may continue 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 expected to take two or three weeks to return to normal, according to Baddour, meaning an early thaw may not be likely. While the high-pressure system itself is not uncommon, the sudden shift to below-normal temperatures following weeks of mild weather has caught experts off guard. Brown described the situation as "quite unique and somewhat puzzling" in terms of how this winter has unfolded. According to Georg Mueller, a forecaster at Point Carbon, a Thomson Reuters company, the sudden and persistent cold spell in January and February is the strongest to occur in February in 26 years. The last similarly severe cold weather in February was in 1986. The large Siberian blocking pattern currently in place has made it challenging to predict its movement, with the cold air influencing wind behavior rather than the other way around. Brown mentioned that the unexpected cold front has lingered and shifted towards the west, causing difficulty for computer models to predict when it will leave Europe. The prolonged cold weather has led to a spike in British gas prices, reaching levels not seen since 2006. Russia reduced gas exports to Europe due to high demand, prompting countries like Italy to seek alternative sources like Algeria. If the cold weather persists and domestic demand rises, Russia may need to decrease its gas exports to Europe once more.