NOVOSIBIRSK, December 4. /TASS/. Freezing weather has arrived in Russia’s Siberian regions, the Western Siberian Meteorological Center said.
Temperatures have dropped below minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Krasnoyarsk Region. Traffic authorities have sent cars to patrol federal highways. The patrol cars have stockpiles of warm clothes, blankets and valenki boots (traditional Russian felt footwear), as well as heating devices and airtight flasks filled with hot tea. They will patrol certain parts of federal highways every three hours in order to be able to come to drivers’ rescue in time.
Meteorologists expect temperatures to plummet as low as minus 48 degrees Celsius (minus 54.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Tomsk Region, so local bus services have been suspended.
The Taimyr Peninsula has been facing freezing weather with temperatures of up to minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit), which has prompted local authorities in the city of Norilsk to allow students from first to fourth grade to skip school, while in the city of Dudinka, students from first to ninth grade have been allowed to stay at home. The Novosibirsk Mayor’s Office said, in turn, that when temperatures reach minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit), students from fifth to ninth grade can stay at home. When temperatures fall below minus 35 degrees Celsius (minus 31 degrees Fahrenheit), high schoolers are also permitted to skip classes.
Due to the cold snap, people have started actively using heating devices in the Irkutsk Region, which often times can cause fires. The number of blazes has been on the rise in the region, and has claimed the lives of 24 kids since the beginning of the year. According to firefighters, as frigid weather sets in, there may be more fires and more victims. That said, rescue workers are going door-to-door, explaining to people that they need to pay attention to the condition of their boilers, wiring and electrical devices.
Northern Lights 2.0
A rare atmospheric phenomenon was observed in the city of Novosibirsk overnight into December 3. Multicolored columns of light against the dark sky above the horizon could be seen that were a bit reminiscent of the renowned Northern Lights.
"If we have cold weather and an anticyclone at the same time, an optical phenomenon called a halo is produced when the smallest crystals of ice suspended in the air reflect sunlight or moonlight," Spokesman for the Western Siberian Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Renad Yagudin explained to TASS.
Meanwhile, a video showing a man riding a bike on the outskirts of Dudinka in weather conditions of minus 42 degrees Celsius (minus 43.6 degrees Fahrenheit) has been circulating on social media.