Extreme frosts in Russian cities reach -50℃ in 2023! (PHOTOS)
December started really frosty for Siberia and the Urals. In big cities, the temperature dropped below -35°C (-31°F). Meanwhile, in the capital area, it didn’t get as cold, but it was abnormally snowy!
1. It's -30°C (-22°F) in Yekaterinburg. Because of the cold weather, public trolleybuses and trams have to reduce their speed to 20-25 km/h (12-16 mph) to avoid breakdowns. And below is what the frozen embankment of the Iset River in the city center looks like.
2. Krasnoyarsk residents experienced -35°C (-22°F) frosts in the city and as low as -50°C (-58°F) in the region. Meanwhile, a frost of -51°C (-60°F) was recorded in the Severo-Yenisei District.
A member of the ‘Kriofil’ (‘Cryophile’) winter swimming club during a swim in the Yenisei River in -30℃ (-22°F) temps.
In such freezing temps, things like binoculars on Tatyshev Island, Krasnoyarsk, are covered in snow and frost.
3. In Novosibirsk, the temperature dropped to -33℃ (-27°F) in the city center and -42℃ (-44°F) in the region.
The photo below shows athletes competing in a winter SUP-surfing race on a non-freezing river near Novosibirsk! Brrr…
4. Omsk. A view of an icy house. It's dropped to -30℃ (-22°F) there, too.
5. And, in Norilsk, in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Krai, it's not actually that cold – only -28℃ (-20°F), but it's already Polar Night. The last time the sun was seen there was on November 29. And the first sunrise will only be in the second half of January 2024!
6. In the north of Primorsky Krai, it is currently below -20°C (-4°F), but feels like -40°C (-40°F), due to the wind. Vladivostok's embankment, meanwhile, literally looks like the Snow Queen's domain!
7. In Vorkuta, it's only -20°C (-4°F) and there is constant crisp snow underfoot. However, there is only one hour between sunset and sunrise, because it is located on the 67th parallel!
8. According to the Yakutsk media, it has even warmed up there! In the capital of the coldest region of Russia, the nights are slightly below -33°C (-27°F), although, a few days ago, it was -45°C (-47°F). And this is above the climatic norm for this time of year.
9. The first half of December 2023 in St. Petersburg was especially cold and snowy. Only at first glance it seems that -10°C (14°F) is not so terrible. Combined with St. Petersburg's winds and snowfalls, residents were very cold! Now, the city has warmed up by a few degrees, but, as forecasters promise, it won't last long!
10. In the Russian capital of Moscow, it is not very cold (about -7°C, 20°F), but very, very snowy!
Snowfalls were seen all week and will continue in patches until the New Year. In some areas, snowdrifts have grown to 30 cm and forecasters are predicting even more!
