Record warm temperatures hit Russia by Philip Avery
Over the past few weeks, several records have been broken in Russia for unseasonably mild weather, including the warmest ever December temperature on record.
In Moscow, a temperature of 9.4 degrees Celsius (49F) was recorded on Saturday, the highest December temperature in the history of meteorological observations. Strangely, this record occurred at 3 o’clock in the morning, when usually the temperature would be plummeting towards its minimum.
During Russia’s long, harsh winters, the temperature in Moscow rarely rises above freezing, and the average December temperature ranges between minus 10 and minus 5 degrees C (14 to 23F). This recent warm spell has brought temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above normal, with some climate meteorologists claiming this is further evidence of global warming.
The unusual warmth has been due to winds from the south and southwest that have been bringing warmer air from southern Europe. Russia has not been the only country to feel the impact of this warmer air. High temperatures have also been recorded in countries such as Belarus, Hungary and Ukraine. These winds look set to gradually turn more northerly and easterly this week, introducing some cooler air to the region.
The warm spell has not just been confined to the past few weeks. Autumn 2008 was the warmest autumn for more than 100 years in the Moscow region.
