Think it's cold HERE? Beautiful pictures from around the globe as the world freezes

BMW marketing bosses have been accused of an 'advertising move too far' after buying sponsorship rights of the cold front which has ripped through Europe.

The car giant's advertising agency paid for the right to name the current weather front 'Cooper', after the BMW-produced Mini Cooper compact auto.

The Sassenbach advertising agency in Munich, where BMW is based, bought the rights to name the cold snap in what is now being seen as a marketing mishap of enormous proportions.

Paul Heger from the Institute for Meteorology at the Free University (FU) in Berlin runs an 'Adopt-a-Vortex' scheme, whereby the public can go online and bid to sponsor a high or low weather system.

Sassenbach paid for the names Cooper - for the high currently wreaking havoc - and for a low called Minnie which will follow when the cold snap is over.

But with temperatures plunging to 33 degrees below, and close to 40 people dead across Europe and Russia and 500 in hospital for weather related injuries and frostbite, BMW executives are said to be fuming after the move.

One marketing executive said; 'It's all very well to plug the Mini as a car which can handle all weathers, but when people are dropping like flies and there is no end to the cold snap in sight, the feeling is this is one Mad Men move too far.'

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I'm in RIga, Latvia on a business trip. It seems they waited for me to arrive before having record low temperatures. I just walked outside in -25C temperatures and my first breath almost froze my lungs. On Monday I head back to Kuala Lumpur where I will never complain about heat and humidity again :D

- Jafar Calley, Riga, Latvia, 03/2/2012 06:04

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amazing pics DM...here in sydney australia we are supposed to be in summer but instead its been a wet cold and miserable summer so far.....:(

- richard siniska, sydney australia, 03/2/2012 04:47

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"I believe the poles are shifting......the north pole towards Russia. We are now getting Oklahoma's winter up here in Michigan."

- DM, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, 03/2/2012 02:32

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Looks like Europe is having a really bad, cold winter, I can sympathize with those who are suffering through it as I'm no fan of winter at all. That said, we here in North America are seeing a very unusually mild, nearly snowless winter, I look out my windows and see bare ground where there should be three to four feet of snow right now and our temps have been very mild indeed. I know there are many people who say there is no such thing as Global Warming but with all this crazy extreme weather like this happening, one gets the sense that maybe, just maybe Global Warming is driving it,.. food for thought anyway.

- ANTI-CON, The WARM U.S.A., 03/2/2012 02:30

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Those pictures are quite remarkable. Here on the east coast of the U.S. we are enjoying a much warmer winter than we've grown accustomed to. Northern New England, where I live, has been relatively balmy.

- Gary, Old Town, USA, 03/2/2012 01:21

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are we going to panic over a little cold? i live in northern alberta and its not cold here the snow is melting and i have seen kids leaving school in shorts. ok its not that warm but kids are wearing shorts for som eunknown reason. this time of year we usually have temps at about minus 20-30. toay its like 8 outside. what we should worry about is the constant wars we have going for the rich. climate change is a natural thing i suggest you people stop feeding off the fear mongers out there and enjoy life as best you can.

- Helen from Canada, Canada, 03/2/2012 01:02

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After seeing this we, in UK, have no right to claim that it is cold here. - John W, Wiltshire, unless, like michelle,helsinki says , you're the one sleeping outside on the streets, or too poor to be able to heat your house effectively! it is cold here, it is just colder in some places, but that doesn't nnegate the facts that it is cold in the uk too!

- fifi, wales, 02/2/2012 22:53

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Instead of giving all of the world's wealth to AlGore and his AGW minions, wouldn't it be more effective if we just piled all the money on a golden altar and set it on fire to appease the Global Warming / Climate Change deities?

- Iowa48, Portland Oregon, 02/2/2012 19:38

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No the whole world isn't freezing. It's a beautiful 82 F here in Florida. We rarely see frost and I haven't seen snow here since moving here. So let's not get too excited Daily Mail about the WHOLE world freezing.

- Sam, Port Charlotte, FL USA, 02/2/2012 18:43

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Mild winter in the states, and most agree, its the best winter ever. Light utility bills, light snow removal bills, and fewer road accidents. Unless you run a ski resort, no snow and warm weather are fantastic! And to those global warming alarmists, note that you can't grow crops in the snow. Its better to be too warm than too cold.

- Jim, Appleton, USA, 02/2/2012 18:41

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