Tony Gentle / Reuters

Marco Fois of Italy dives into the Tiber River from the Cavour bridge, as part of traditional New Year celebrations in Rome Sunday.

Thousands of people across Europe celebrated the arrival of the New Year by jumping into chilly seas, rivers and lakes Sunday.

In Italy, several people dived into the River Tiber in a New Year's tradition that stretches back to 1946.

In Netherlands, thousands of people were said to have run into the icy waters of the North Sea near The Hague.

Peter Dejong / AP

Despite temperatures of around 52 degrees Fahrenheit, thousands of people celebrate the New Year by running into the North Sea at Scheveningen, near The Hague, Netherlands.

Further north in Scotland, scores of people took part in the annual "Loony Dook" (which roughly translates as mad dive or "ducking" in the water) event in the Firth of Forth, an estuary leading to the North Sea.

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

New Year revelers, many in fancy dress, braved freezing conditions in the River Forth in front of the Forth Rail Bridge during the annual "Loony Dook" swim Sunday.

And in Germany, New Year's day swimmers in a Berlin lake included a group known as the "Berlin Seals."

Maurizio Gambarini / AFP - Getty Images

A winter bather of the "Berlin Seals" poses in near-freezing water of the Orankesee lake during a New Year's swimming event Sunday.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.