Residents of the Romanian capital woke up to up to half a meter of snow on Wednesday morning as Bucharest was hit by the biggest blizzard in years, with roads blocked, trees knocked down and flights canceled.
Residents were jolted out of their sleep by a Ro-Alert siren at 4.20 am telling people to avoid travel. The red alert was valid until 10:00.
Streets were emptied of the usual heavy traffic while trams were temporarily unable to move and blocked tramlines. Pedestrians walked in the street to avoid pavements covered with thick snow and ice.
Emergency services carried out 100 interventions, and some flights were canceled or diverted to other airports.
The heavy snow caused problems in south, central and eastern Romania with traffic restrictions on several highways and national roads.
Bucharest public transport was snarled by the bad weather, the Bucharest Transport Company (STB) said on X, with officials working to clear snow “from roads, tram lines and and critical areas.”
Meteorologist called it “the most severe episode of this winter”. Over half of the country is under an orange and yellow code for snow and blizzards until noon.
“Red code weather warning for heavy snowfall on 18.02.2026, 4:20 – 8:20. Avoid driving! In case of necessity, use alternative routes communicated by the authorities,” is the message sent by the authorities.
But there was an upside to the disruption. The massive quantities of snow that fell overnight and Wednesday morning acted as a massive natural filter, reducing the concentrations of fine particles rarely seen in the capital.
On Wednesday morning, the air in the capital and Ilfov county was completely green.
Data from the uRADMonitor platform shows a “collapse” in PM2.5 values. In the Aviation district, a sensor located in the area of Virgil Madgearu Street recorded a value of 0.00 μg/m³ at 04:35. The graph shows a steady decline starting at midnight when the snowfall intensified.
