Unusually cold temperatures have triggered frost emergencies in half a dozen regions of Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. Record-breaking winter weather has also disrupted air and rail travel, while causing hardship in several rural areas.
On Thursday, thermometers in Moscow showed -26 degrees Celsius, with the forecast expecting a low of -31 overnight and a high of -12C on Friday. The Russian capital was put on an ‘orange weather alert’ through January 6.
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Temperatures in St. Petersburg dropped to -27C on Thursday, while the northern part of Leningrad Region saw a cold snap as low as -36C.
Lows of -35C were expected on Thursday in the central regions of Russia – Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Tver, and Yaroslavl – while the Sverdlovsk Region might go down to -40C. The unusual cold will spread to 70% of the country in the coming days and will not let up before January 10, the Federal Weather Service has said.
In some parts of Russia, temperatures could go down as far as -54C.
As of Thursday evening, 11 flights have been delayed or canceled at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and five at Vnukovo. There were no cancellations or delays at Domodedovo and Zhukovsky.
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The frost has also led to problems with rail traffic. Six trains were stopped in Chelyabinsk Region in the Urals. While some social media outlets have reported problems with the heating and food running out, the railways said they would maintain a “comfortable temperature regime” on board and provide meals for everyone in Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk.
A Lastochka electric train got stuck in Vladimir Region, en route from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod, after it lost power in -30 C frost. Some 300 passengers were reported “trapped in ice” for almost three hours.