'Climate change is real and scary': Spain's unusual snowstorm leaves netizens bittersweet

After a persistent blizzard blanketed large parts of Spain with an unusual amount of snow, several internet users took to Twitter to share images and videos. The Spanish capital, Madrid, is trying to get back on its feet after 50-year record snowfall paralysed parts of central Spain over the weekend. According to AP, temperatures in Madrid have hit minus eight degrees due to the storm. 

More than half of Spain’s provinces remained under severe weather alerts for Storm Filomena, seven of them at the highest level of warning. Authorities have also activated a red alert for the first time since the system was adopted four decades ago and called in the military to rescue people from vehicles trapped on everything from small roads to the city’s major thoroughfares. Meanwhile, citizens have taken to social media to share pictures and videos of the snowfall around their location. Here are some the trending posts: 

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Lowest temperatures since 1982

Meanwhile, schools remained closed in Madrid and much of central Spain. Authorities are urging people to stay at home in a bid to avoid accidents that could further strain emergency rooms in hospitals. AP reported that the town of Bello, in the northeastern Teruel province, registered a temperature of minus 25.4 degrees Celsius, while Molina de Aragón, in the central Guadalajara province, was only a tenth of a degree less cold. As per the reports, the storm has killed four people so far. 

Some temperatures were the lowest since 1982. In a preliminary assessment, the city hall estimated that at least 150,000 of Madrid's 800,000 trees have fallen due to the weight of snow. The capital's airport was expected to get back to full operation on Tuesday, and railway operations were steadily increasing in frequency, although Madrid's subway and commuter trains were dangerously overcrowded. 

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