MOSCOW: Winter weather stormed across Russia, causing temperatures in some regions of Siberia to drop as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit), while blizzards disrupted flights and covered Moscow in record amounts of snow.
In the Sakha Republic, situated in the northeastern part of Siberia and home to Yakutsk, renowned as one of the world’s coldest cities, temperatures decreased below minus 50°C, as reported by the region’s weather stations. An unusually early cold spell in Sakha resulted in temperatures dipping even lower than minus 50°C in various areas of the vast region, slightly smaller than India.
The extreme cold is particularly impactful since nearly all of Sakha is situated in the permafrost zone. In the capital city, Yakutsk, located approximately 5,000 km (3,100 miles) east of Moscow, temperatures ranged from around minus 44°C to minus 48°C. Temperatures hitting minus 50°C have become less frequent in recent years, partly attributed to climate change, which has led to observable signs of permafrost thawing.
Meanwhile, heavy snowfalls in Moscow, the Russian capital, among the most substantial on record, led to delays at several airports on Monday, as runways were blanketed in thick snow.
According to the RIA news agency, at least 54 flights were delayed, and five were canceled at the capital’s three largest airports. Weather forecasts indicated that temperatures in Moscow were expected to drop to about minus 18°C later in the week.
