Iceland turns into winter wonderland after record snowfall

Iceland'scapital has been turned into a winter wonderland after the city's residents saw the biggest snowfall for 80 years.

Up to 51cm blanketed Reykjavík on Sunday, the most snow to have ever fallen on the capital in February.

It also came close to topping the overall record of 55cm that was recorded in January 1937.  

Public transport ground to a halt as all roads leading out of Reykjavík were closed.

Many of the motorists who did venture out got into difficulty, with police and ICE-SAR search and rescue units receiving numerous calls from people who "overestimated the capacity of their vehicles to travel in the current conditions".

While pedestrians also struggled to wade through the snow, it didn't stop photographers from braving the elements capture the scenes.

"It was very fun to shoot and people seemed very excited by the weather," photographer Gunnar Freyr, also known as the Icelandic Explorer, told the BBC. 

"I took pictures of lots of couples holding hands - everyone was getting into the romantic vibe because of the snow," he said.

While most people ventured out in the morning once the blizzard conditions had passed,  Freyr went out at night in the thick of it, and admitted the conditions were challenging.

"It was a difficult shoot because my camera kept getting covered with snow," he said.

"But there was so much light from the snow reflecting on everything it was great conditions for night photography."