Crucial UK-EU gas pipeline offline

(RT) ⸻ Gas exports from Britain to Europe have been suspended due to an "equipment failure" on a major pipeline, Interconnector Ltd. The operator, which is largely owned by Belgium-based natural gas distributor Fluxys, posted a notice online late on Saturday confirming that the pipeline will remain inactive until March 8 due to "transmission system unavailability". The disruption comes amid a cold snap already sweeping the UK with heavy snow and low temperatures. The weather event, or "sudden stratospheric warming," may cause extreme cold in the Northern Hemisphere, bringing temperatures well below seasonal norms and risking a prolongation of winter until the end of March. The extreme weather threat comes after a mostly mild winter across Europe, which helped both the UK and the EU to largely avoid energy-supply problems stemming from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the Western sanctions against Moscow. Heavy snow and abnormally low temperatures forecast in Germany and Poland, and into southeastern and northeastern Europe.