After temperatures fell to minus 33 Celsius (minus 27.4 Fahrenheit) in the eastern part of Estonia, a surge in demand from power plants and homes caused problems for Eesti Gaas, the country's only gas supply company.

But the government promised there would be no disruptions to domestic consumers, after some power stations switched to using oil.

"The gas pressure in pipelines is lower than necessary, and we consider it an emergency situation," said Eesti Gaas sales director Raul Kotov.

"It is not caused by cuts from Russian suppliers. We are not able to provide more gas to our customers for technical reasons," he added.

The ministry for economic affairs said some power stations switched from using gas to oil, to guarantee they can continue generating heat for homes and factories.

"The switch from gas to liquid fuel means ... there will be no disruptions to domestic consumers of gas," the ministry said.

In Latvia, the Baltic state's meteorological centre said the temperature of minus 27 C (minus 16.6 F) in Riga was the coldest in 100 years in the capital on this day in January.

Police said four people died of the cold in Riga and two in the countryside on Friday.

More than 100 people suffered frostbite and the national burns centre in the capital treated 10 people for the condition, the Baltic News Service reported.

Temperatures in some parts of east and north Latvia plunged to minus 32 C (minus 25.6 F).

In the region around the northeastern Polish towns of Bialystok and Suwalki, up to 70 percent of schoolchildren were kept home by their parents as temperatures fell to minus 27 C (minus 16.6 F) Friday morning, even though schools remained open, according to Polish news agency PAP.

Taxi firms in Bialystok reported a surge in demand, including from motorists asking for help in starting their own cars.

In Suwalki, buses remained stuck in garages after their fuel froze, while other public transport vehicles were running late.

In Lithuania, as temperatures dropped to minus 30 C (minus 22 F) in the east of the country -- -- the coldest so far this year -- eight people were taken to hospital in the capital Vilnius suffering from the effects of the cold, emergency medical services said.

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