As if the journey wasn't already hard enough

On the Austrian side of the crossings, tents equipped for cold weather conditions have now been set up. Authorities on the German side are planning to increase the number of buses for transporting the migrants to emergency accommodation and reception centers.

According to a new agreement, Germany and Austria have designated five exclusive crossings along their shared border as handover and inspection points for migrants. The new crossing points will free up the heavily used border checkpoint at Passau-Achleiten.

There are some 17,200 places in temporary housing for refugees seeking asylum in Austria. However, 80,000 more refugees are still expected to arrive, says Alison Langley, DW correspondent in Austria, posing a problem to ensure adequate quarters for the winter.

Not all shelters are equiped with heaters. About 4,000 refugees have to hold out in unheated camps. In Lower Saxony and other German states, the authorities are working to get the tents ready for winter.

These refugees walking along the German-Austrian border were headed for emergency accommodation. DW-reporter Oliver Sallet says that the situation is still bearable, with temperatures hovering around eight degrees Celsius. Even so, it remains cold and wet.

In Rigonce, Slovenia, a cold weather front has already moved in. According to DW reporter Nemanja Rujevic, the accommodation is mostly not winterproof. In other Balkan countries, the situation is not much better.

Eleven migrants, including six children, drowned on Sunday in a new tragedy off the Greek island of Samos, coastguards said. This adds to a string of boat accidents in the Aegean Sea since Monday, in which more than 60 people have drowned.

The Aegean Sea will be very cold in the period between December and March. Despite this fact, refugees will still try to cross, says Omaira Gill, DW correspondent in Greece. "When the weather gets bad, the human traffickers lower their prices; therefore, more refugees will come," she says.

The living conditions for Syrian refugees in Lebanon have been difficult. Lebanon was one of the first countries in which Syrians sought refuge after the outbreak of war. In the last few years Lebanon has been dealing with an estimated two to 2.5 million refugees during some very cold winters.