Tue, 26 Jan 2021 14:39 UTC
Madrid, Spain's central capital, is a city of elegant boulevards and expansive, manicured parks such as the Buen Retiro - at least it was, before the Grand Solar Minimum slapped it silly.
A slew of new all-time cold and snow records have been set across Spain this January, snowfall so substantial that people even skied the streets of Madrid:
But it wasn't all fun and games.
The paralyzing snowfall has taken a catastrophic toll on the Spanish capital's trees, severely damaging up to 70% of those in its main parks.
The unprecedented snow and bone-chilling freeze, brought about by Storm Filomena's meeting with a brutal Arctic air mass, are estimated to have caused at least €1.4 billion of damage and prompted Spain's government to declare the city a disaster zone last week.