Moscow winter ‘warmest since records began’: weather service

Moscow: Russia’s capital Moscow, which for the past months has largely been deprived of its traditional seasonal covering of snow, has seen its warmest winter since records began, the state weather service said on Saturday. The head of Russia’s forecasting centre Roman Vilfand told the TASS news agency that the average temperature in Russia from December to February has been some 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 Fahrenheit) warmer than the previous record of minus 2.8 degrees seen in the winter of 1960-1961. He said such differences between records were extremely rare. Records began 140 years ago in Russia. “I am sure that we are not going to see such a warm winter again for a long time,” he said. He added that the winter record for Russia as a whole would also likely be beaten but said the data was still being compiled. 2019 was also the hottest year ever registered in Russia.