A total of 84 people have died from intense cold this winter in Poland

A total of 84 people have died from intense cold this winter in Poland, police said Monday after temperatures plunged to minus 23 degrees Celsius (minus nine degrees Fahrenheit) in northeastern regions at the weekend. The frozen corpse of a 54-year-old man was discovered Sunday in the eastern village of Mielnik not far from a neighbor's farm. "Most of the victims are men between the age of 40 and 60 who die of hypothermia after succumbing to alcohol-induced drowsiness outdoors or somewhere without heat," said police spokesman Marcin Szyndler. The victims also include homeless people and and women, however. The youngest victim to date this winter was 19 years old and the oldest was 91.The current cold snap has been accompanied by considerable snowfall in some regions, but meteorologists forecast milder temperatures in the coming days.Last winter 154 people died of exposure in Poland, compared to 225 in 1999.