Siberia gripped by extreme, record-breaking cold for a week

Extreme cold temperatures rip through the Siberian region, with the mercury dropping to record lows for an entire week into Tuesday, December 29, 2020. Air temperatures as piercing as -51 °C (-59.8 °F) have been holding for a week, and record low temperatures are being recorded every day.

Russia's weather institute Roshydromet said temperatures in several places in Siberia have dipped to record lows.

The air temperature in the Kemerovo region has reached -42 °C (-43.6 °F), the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Irkutsk region has cooled down to -46 °C (-50.8 °F), and Evenkia was freezing at -51 °C (-59.8 °F)

Record low temperatures have been reported in the region for a week. On December 28, records were smashed in the Kemerovo region as the mercury dropped to -43.6 °C (46.5 °F) in Tisul, -45.4 °C (-49.7 °F) in Kemerovo and -40.6 °C (-41.1 °F) in Novokuznetsk.

The extreme cold has resulted in complicated ship traffic in the area, leaving a military cargo ship and support vessels stuck in the sea ice for more than a week.

Forecasters said the abnormally cold weather will remain in Siberia until the end of the year.

Featured image credit: Mariska Dzerzhinskiy