Istanbul was largely cut off on Monday as heavy snowfall led to travel chaos.
Motorways into the Turkish city were closed and flights cancelled owing to conditions described as “Icelandic”.
As roads were turned to ice-clogged arteries, the governor’s office cancelled some bus services and barred the city’s ubiquitous motorbike couriers from the streets. But with an economic crisis as severe as the weather, many delivery riders ignored the prohibition and braved the snow.
“I’ve got to work, otherwise I don’t get paid and my family suffers,” said one worker delivering food to an office in Kadikoy, on the city’s Asian side.
“I’m trying to be extra-careful and drive slowly because the roads are very dangerous.”
Governor Ali Yerlikaya called on citizens to report companies flouting the ban for “disregarding the lives of not only motor-couriers but also our fellow countrymen”.
All main routes into Istanbul from the north were closed owing to heavy snowfall, Mr Yerlikaya said. The D-100 highway that links Istanbul and Ankara reopened on Monday after being closed overnight, but other routes leading from the south were mostly closed.
Provincial authorities to the north of Istanbul said vehicles would not be allowed to travel south until further notice.
Throughout the city of 16 million people, commuters huddling inside hoods and scarves queued at bus stops after public-sector workers were sent home early.
But the treacherous conditions meant few buses were arriving regularly, leading to large numbers of desperate travellers waiting at bus, metro and tram stops as the evening approached.
“There is nothing we can do. It snows, the roads are affected, the traffic is blocked and cars are stuck on the road,” Ali Safa, waiting at a bus stop in Bahcelievler, on the European side, told Demiroren news agency.
“People set out without winter tires, knowing that it will snow, and have an accident. They prevent others from reaching the road.”
Pile-ups caused by blizzard conditions led to road closures during rush hour. A 50-vehicle accident on the North Marmara highway, which skirts Istanbul’s European suburbs, led to jams stretching for miles.
Three people were killed and 18 were injured when an inter-city coach rolled down a 30-metre embankment in snowy weather on the motorway on Sunday.
Many drivers complained of a lack of information and said they feared they could be stuck in freezing conditions without food or water.
Images shared on Twitter of motorists trying to negotiate some of Istanbul’s hillier backstreets showed cars skidding out of control and crashing into walls and other vehicles.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said crews were working to clear the roads. “We have 7,421 personnel and 1,582 vehicles to intervene in the situation,” he said. Homeless people were being directed to emergency accommodation and food was distributed to the city’s army of stray cats and dogs.
Local media also showed footage of people waiting in the snowfall to buy cheap bread at a municipality-run kiosk. Shopping malls were closed 2.5 hours early.
Meteorologist Orhan Sen said the temperature was -8°C and 20 centimetres of snow had fallen on the ground. The bad weather was brought in from the Black Sea, resulting in Istanbul’s European districts experiencing the worst.
The bad weather is expected to persist until Thursday.
Prof Sen warned people not to stay outside for long periods:
“If we stay a little too long, we’ll get hypothermia,” he said.
“If the body temperature drops below 26 degrees, it will be difficult to stay alive. That’s why we shouldn’t stay outside.”
At Istanbul Airport, opened less than three years ago, the roof of a cargo terminal collapsed under the weight of snow. Spokesman Yahya Ustun said nobody had been hurt.
Turkish Airlines announced the cancellation of all flights until 4am Turkish time on Tuesday. At the city’s second airport, Sabiha Gokcen, authorities said there would be a 15 per cent reduction in flights on Tuesday.
The national carrier had earlier announced the cancellation of 36 domestic and international flights from Istanbul Airport.
Ali Kidik, an Istanbul municipality assembly member, tweeted from an aborted flight to the southern city of Adana. He said passengers had been “left to their fate” for seven hours.
Universities were closed for two days because of the weather. Schools shut last week for a scheduled break.
Wild weather across the Middle East - in pictures
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
Profile
Company name: Marefa Digital
Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
Number of employees: seven
Sector: e-learning
Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019
Investors: Friends and family
More from UAE Human Development Report:
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
