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Agence France-Presse

This year was the hottest ever registered in Russia, the country’s weather chief said on Monday, as climate change pushes global temperatures to record highs.
“This year in Russia was the hottest for the entire period of instrumental observations,” the head of the Gidromedtsentr weather service, Roman Vilfand, told Russian news agencies.
He said Moscow’s average temperature for 2019 had hit 7.6-7.7 degrees Celsius (45.7-45.9 degrees Fahrenheit), beating the previous record by 0.3 degrees.
Vilfand said January will continue to be warmer than usual in almost all regions of Russia.

Weather records have been kept since 1879 in Moscow and since 1891 in Russia as a whole.
Global warming has sent temperatures rising around the world, with the United Nations saying earlier this month that 2019 was on course to be one of the three hottest years on record.
Known for its cold winters, Moscow has seen its warmest December in a century this year.
While some flurries fell on Monday, the Russian capital – normally blanketed with snow by mid-December – has seen a largely snowless and cloudy last month of the year.
The city’s ski resorts were closed and spring buds were beginning to show on trees – three or more months too early.

The capital usually puts on huge winter celebrations during the national holidays over the first eight days of January and this year is resorting to unusual measures like dumping artificial snow in central Moscow.
Muscovites ridiculed city hall last week when piles of snow appeared out of nowhere on central Tverskaya avenue, and officials explained they were constructing a snowboarding hill from snow gathered at the capital’s ice skating rinks.
The Zaryadye park near the Kremlin boasted a “Snow Garden” with artificial snow and Christmas trees. “Come look at the snow!” it beckoned followers on its Instagram account.
Even in Siberia, where winters are notoriously harsh, anomalously warm Decembers have become a recurring phenomenon in the last decade, said Anna Lapchik, who heads the Western Siberian weather service.

“We can say that winters are becoming milder, with more snow,” she said in televised remarks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has always been reluctant to acknowledge the link between human activity and global warming.
At his traditional year-end annual news conference earlier this month, Putin insisted that “nobody knows” the causes of climate change.
But he acknowledged the consequences of global warming could be catastrophic for a country that is one of the world’s biggest producers of carbon fuel and with one-fifth of its land within the Arctic Circle.
Putin said that the rate of warming for Russia was 2.5 per cent higher than elsewhere on the planet.
And “for our country, this process is very serious,” he said.


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Russia

Russia has hottest year since records began in 1891

Russian men fish on a pond covered in thin ice in Moscow earlier this month. Photo: EPA

A woman pushing a stroller walks past blossoming flowers at the botanical garden of Moscow’s State University, the Apothecary Garden, Moscow on December 20, 2019. - Unseasonably warm temperatures for December have been recorded in recent days in the Russian capital. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 19, 2019 "nobody knows" what causes climate change, seeming to cast doubt over whether global warming is of manmade origin and stating it could be blamed on cosmological processes. (Photo by Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP)

A photo shows a view of the city of Moscow through a reflection in a mirror wall of Federation Tower of Moscow's International Business Centre on December 20, 2019. - Unseasonably warm temperatures for December have been recorded in recent days in the Russian capital. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said "nobody knows" what causes climate change, seeming to cast doubt over whether global warming is of manmade origin and stating it could be blamed on cosmological processes. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

People cross a street in central Moscow on December 20, 2019. - Unseasonably warm temperatures for December have been recorded in recent days in the Russian capital. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said "nobody knows" what causes climate change, seeming to cast doubt over whether global warming is of manmade origin and stating it could be blamed on cosmological processes. (Photo by Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP)

Australia has hottest day on record as massive bush fires rage on

People watch the sunrise at Bronte Beach Pool in Sydney on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

epa08058271 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (R) and Foreign Minister Marise Payne address the media at Kirribilli House in Sydney, Australia, 10 December 2019. Up to three Australians have been killed after a volcano erupted in New Zealand, with 11 people still missing and 13 in hospital. EPA-EFE/JOEL CARRETT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

A New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service volunteer watches a fire burn bushland during back-burning operations in bushland near the town of Kulnura, New South Wales, Australia, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019. The smoke blanketing Sydney is a “public health emergency,” according to a coalition of Australian doctors and researchers who say climate change has helped fuel the wildfires that have produced unprecedented haze. Photographer: David Gray/Bloomberg

epa08061894 People protest during a climate emergency demonstration called 'New South Wales is Burning, Sydney is Choking' organized by Uni Students for Climate Justice in Sydney, Australia, 11 December 2019. EPA-EFE/DAN HIMBRECHTS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

People take part in a climate protest at Sydney's Town Hall, Australia December 11, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Barrett

Russia’s Putin drops cryptic hint on 2024 exit in press marathon

Russian President Vladimir Putin at his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow. Photo: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, arrives for his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

HANDOUT - 19 December 2019, Russia, Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin reacts during his 15th annual press conference with regional and international media at the World Trade Centre Moscow. Photo: -/Kremlin/dpa - ATTENTION: editorial use only and only if the credit mentioned above is referenced in full

HANDOUT - 19 December 2019, Russia, Moscow: Media representatives raise their hands during the Russian President Vladimir Putin 15th annual press conference at the World Trade Centre Moscow. Photo: -/Kremlin/dpa - ATTENTION: editorial use only and only if the credit mentioned above is referenced in full

Australia declares state of emergency as heat records topple, fires rage

A home is lost to a bush fire in southwest Sydney as a huge blaze threatens communities across New South Wales. Photo: EPA

A helicopter drops fire retardent to protect a property in Balmoral, 150 kilometres southwest of Sydney on December 19, 2019. - A state of emergency was declared in Australia's most populated region on December 19, as a record heat wave fanned unprecedented bushfires. (Photo by PETER PARKS / AFP)

epaselect epa08080914 A swimmer jumps in the water as smoke haze from bushfires in New South Wales blankets Sydney, Australia, 19 December 2019. Soaring temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius and north westerly winds are fanning a number of fires around Sydney. EPA-EFE/JOEL CARRETT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

A bushfire burns on a property in Balmoral, 150 kilometres southwest of Sydney on December 19, 2019. - A state of emergency was declared in Australia's most populated region on December 19, as a record heat wave fanned unprecedented bushfires. (Photo by PETER PARKS / AFP)

19 December 2019, Australia, Sydney: Protesters hold placards on the road outside of the Kirribilli House ministerial residence during a demonstration against Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, demanding action against the ongoing bushfire amid reports that Morrison and his family left to spend the holidays in Hawaii. Photo: Steven Saphore/AAP/dpa

epaselect epa08080905 Smoke from a bushfire approaches the Old Hume Highway near the town of Tahmoor, NSW, Australia, 19 December 2019. Soaring temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius and north westerly winds are fanning a number of fires around Sydney. EPA-EFE/DEAN LEWINS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

19 December 2019, Australia, Sydney: Police vehicles stand in front of raging flames during an operation to put out bushfire that broke out along the Old Hume Highway. Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP/dpa

19 December 2019, Australia, Sydney: A fireman battles flames amid an operation to put out a bushfire that broke out along the Old Hume Highway. Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP/dpa

Moscow wonders where winter has gone as temperatures hit 133-year high

A Russian family walks in front of the monastery in Borisoglebsky, north of Moscow, on a mild and snowless day. Photo: EPA-EFE

Visitors walk past blossoming flowers in the Apothecary Garden, also known as the Botanic Garden of Moscow State University, in Moscow, Russia December 18, 2019. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

Over 50 polar bears gather outside village in Russia, as Arctic sea ice shrinks

More than 50 polar bears have gathered on the edge of a village in Russia's far north, unable to roam because of weak coastal ice. Photo: AFP

This handout photo taken on December 3, 2019 and released by the World Wildlife Fund - Russia (WWF-Russia) shows polar bears outside the village of Ryrkaypiy in the Chukotka region. - More than 50 polar bears have gathered on the edge of a village in Russia's far north, environmentalists and residents said, as weak coastal ice leaves them unable to roam. (Photo by Maksim DYOMINOV / World Wildlife Fund - Russia / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / World Wildlife Fund Russia / Maksim DYOMINOV" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS --- NO ARCHIVE ---

- AFP PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2019 - A stray polar bear walks on a road on the outskirts of the Russian industrial city of Norilsk on June 17, 2019. - A hungry polar bear has been spotted on the outskirts of Norilsk, hundreds of miles from its natural habitat, authorities said on June 18, 2019. (Photo by Irina Yarinskaya / Zapolyarnaya pravda newspaper / AFP)

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World

Russia & Central Asia


Known for its cold winters when it is normally blanketed with snow, Moscow has seen its warmest December in a century this year
Temperatures are rising around the world, with the UN saying earlier this month that 2019 was on course to be one of the three hottest years yet



Global warming has sent temperatures rising around the world, with the UN saying earlier this month that 2019 was on course to be one of the three hottest years on record.


Climate change

Extreme weather

Environment

Weather