Unusually heavy snowfall in Japan has been blamed for 30 deaths over the past two weeks, officials said on Tuesday.

At least 61 people have been killed and 110 others injured after heavy snowfall and rain swept across Afghanistan on Wednesday and Thursday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in a statement released on Saturday.

Heavy snowfall is expected across a broad area of Japan over the three-day holiday weekend, the weather agency said on Friday, warning of strong winds and high waves along the Sea of Japan coast and in northern regions.

Editor's note: Russian military-political analyst, expert in the field of strategic security, specialist in the Middle East and Africa Vladimir Bekish. The article expresses the personal opinion of the author and may not coincide with the view of News.Az.

Temperatures across western Europe are set to plunge close to zero next week, marking an early winter challenge for the region’s energy systems.