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More than 90,000 migrants, many of them fleeing conflict in the 
Middle East, have transited through Croatia since mid-September after EU
 member Hungary closed its border with Serbia, forcing them to find a 
new route.The Croatian sun has given way to rain and the temperature has 
dropped, but refugees and migrants continue to stream into the country, 
forcing officials and charities to scramble to prepare for wintry 
conditions.He laughs it off, but next to him others shiver on the muddy road in 
Bapska, an eastern village in Croatia that is the first point of entry 
for travellers seeking better lives in northern Europe, especially 
Germany.“It’s starting to get really cold. For someone of my origin, it’s not
 easy!” said Syrian student Ahmad, 22, dressed in a hooded jacket and 
waterproof cape.

Despite the cold, the wind and the drizzle, few complain as they wait
 to be transferred to a reception centre in Opatovac, about 12 
kilometres away.“For
 the adults, it’s still ok, but for the children it is starting to get 
difficult,” said a 58-year-old man who fled the Syrian city of Raqqa, 
which Islamic State jihadists have designated their capital.In these eastern Croatian plains, the weather has changed quickly.“A few days ago the people were suffering from the heat. Now the cold
 and rain have arrived and at night, the temperature can fall to 5 
degrees,” said Nathalie Salles, coordinator of the Doctors Without 
Borders mission in Croatia, based in the Opatovac camp.“The risks now, especially for children, are hypothermia and respiratory infections.”The Croatian Red Cross has been distributing blankets and raincoats 
at Opatovac, where many have arrived without sufficient clothing, 
according to volunteers.At the camp, which is Croatia’s main reception centre and seen as the
 showcase for its treatment of migrants, the initial chaos seen in 
September has subsided and improvements are under way, little by little.The centre can facilitate 4,000 people, and some prefabricated 
housing has been erected to house children and mothers, along with new 
tents, some of them with heating.

But the majority of migrants are housed in large military tents, on top of which rainwater regularly accumulates.

More than 90,000 migrants, many of them fleeing conflict in the Middle East, have transited through Croatia since mid-September after EU ...

See Why European Union Leaders Are Summon For Emergency Meeting.

The leaders will gather on Wednesday evening in Brussels to try to 
adopt a unified approach to the crisis that has seen 477,906 people 
stream into Europe from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, according to 
estimates by the UN refugee agency.European Union leaders are set to gather for an emergency summit on 
the refugee crisis, a day after ministers forced through a controversial
 deal to relocate 120,000 refugees in a major blow to unity within the bloc.Interior ministers briskly voted through the deal on Tuesday, under 
which EU countries must take a share of new arrivals from overstretched 
frontline states, like Greece and Italy.But in a rare step, it was passed by a majority vote instead of 
unanimously, with fierce opposition from Eastern European states.

‘Emergency situation’

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Luxembourg’s
 Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, whose country holds the rotating 
presidency of the EU, said the plan was forced through despite 
opposition because it was an “emergency situation”.

“If we had not done this, Europe would have been even more divided,” he told a press conference.

Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia all voted against 
the plan, while Finland abstained, straining regional ties as Europe 
wrestles with its biggest migration crisis since World War II.With the relocation vote out of the way, Wednesday’s emergency EU 
summit will focus on strengthening the bloc’s external borders, as well 
as giving extra funding to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and UN agencies.But there may be trouble ahead as Greece will likely face pressure to
 accept outside help in managing its borders – renewing sovereignty 
concerns in Athens just months after it was forced to accept a huge 
eurozone bailout.The EU’s new relocation plans were outlined after pictures of a 
drowned Syrian refugee toddler lying on a Turkish beach sparked global 
outrage.But the proposal has opened fresh rifts in a bloc already reeling from the Greek debt crisis.Europe is under increasing pressure over its handling of a huge 
influx of hundreds of thousand of refugees this year, many of them 
fleeing conflict and repression in Syria, Afghanistan, and Eritrea.“We have no choice but to leave,” said Abdullah, a 35-year-old 
father-of-two from war-ravaged Aleppo in Syria who has worked for three 
years to save up the money to travel to Europe.