By AFP - Agence France Presse
'Less snow': warm January weather breaks records in Moscow
The month of January 2025 is on course to be one of the warmest ever recorded in Moscow, meteorologists reported on Wednesday, with two of the last days breaking daily temperature records.
Thermometer readings on Wednesday did not fall below 3.8 degrees Celsius (38.8 Fahrenheit), far more than the historical average below zero, according to Russia's Phobos meteorological center.
Residents of the capital told AFP that there was less snow for children to play in and that there was “mud everywhere”, which made walking their dogs more difficult.
Experts warn that more temperature records will be broken in the future as man-made climate change disrupts global weather patterns.
“Of course, we don't like a winter like this... Everything should be done in moderation,” 68-year-old pensioner Galina Kazakova told AFP in central Moscow.
“It's very bad for nature because the snow should stay in the fields so that it melts so that everything grows well,” she added.
Monday and Tuesday were the warmest dates since records began, while Wednesday is also expected to break its record, Russia's RBK news agency reported, citing meteorologists.
“January, which is approaching a heat record, continues to surprise,” meteorologist Mikhail Leus said on Telegram, posting a video of chanterelle mushrooms appearing amid patches of snow in the forest.
- Record heat?
Central Russia's state meteorological service said Moscow was heading for its “second warmest January” since records began, surpassed only by January 2020.
Russian state media reported that January 2025 could even be warmer than that year.
Climatologist Alexey Karnaukhov was unsure whether this January would be the warmest.
“It's hard to say whether there will be a record. In 2020, there was no stable snow cover in central Russia either, and this year is not unique,” Karnaukhov told AFP.
“We live in an era of global warming, warm years will become more and more frequent. Even if the current figures are a record, they certainly won't be the last,” he told AFP.
On the streets of the capital, residents expressed both joy and concern at the unseasonably warm weather.
“I like it all. It's very pleasant to walk,” said 19-year-old student Olga Medvedeva.
“I like winter better the way it was,” said Elena Aleksandrova, 73.
“We take the dog for a walk, he likes playing in the snow too. Now, where can you walk? There's mud everywhere.”
bur/rlp
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