Winter has arrived in Greece with a vengeance, with low temperatures, gale-force winds and snowfall throughout the country on Tuesday, including flurries in central Athens, with central and western Macedonia and the Peloponnese the hardest hit areas, especially on high ground.

All ships have been banned from sailing from the ports of Piraeus, Lavrion and Rafina in Attica prefecture due to gale-force winds of up to 10 beaufort velocity in the seas, as well as the ferry crossing to nearby Salamis island from Perama.

The sailing ban also affects the areas of Prinos-Kavala, Alexandroupolis-Samothraki, Arkitsa-Aedipsos, and Volos-Sporades Islands.