The first two weeks of January, supposed to be the thick of winter with heavy snowfall, have been the warmest witnessed by the Russian capital in 130 years, warm enough to make flowers blossom in the city of Kursk, 370 miles to the southwest, out of season. “This is a unique phenomenon for the coldest month of the year. We have never registered such temperatures,” head of the Hydrometeorological Bureau for Moscow Alexei Lyakhov told reporters on Monday. Last year, conversely, most of Russia was gripped by bitter cold as temperatures plummeted to minus 34°C on January 19. As a result of warm weather, the country last year registered the highest number of weather disturbances in the history of meteorological observation—371 instances including extreme cold, heat waves, strong winds and heavy rains, were registered across Russia.
