RUSSIA: Tempartures drop to minus 30 Celsius in Moscow as cold weather grips Russia.

Record ID: 333462

  • Title: RUSSIA: Tempartures drop to minus 30 Celsius in Moscow as cold weather grips Russia.
  • Date: 18th January 2006
  • Summary: WIDE OF POLICEMAN WATCHING AS CAR IS TOWED
  • Embargoed: 2nd February 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Weather
  • Reuters ID: LVAA40XF4ZTN6V6ACDVIM52HUF7U
  • Story Text: A cold front rolling in from Siberia brought record cold temperatures to the Russian capital on Wednesday (January 18) and forecasters said 50-year lows were expected for the rest of the week.
    While Moscow's big freeze sent officials panicking about electricity supplies, most Muscovites, huddled in fur coats and hats, seemed not too disturbed by the biting cold.
    With some trolley buses and trams out of action because of electricity shortages and many cars stranded with flat batteries, walking seemed for most people the most reliable option to get to work.
    Students at primary schools were allowed to stay home at their parents' discretion, a common rule that goes into effect when temperatures plummet below minus 25 Celsius.
    "It is up to the parents to decide, but if the children miss classes, we will not penalise it. So it is up to each parent to decide whether to send their children to school of not," said Irina Mikhailovna, the deputy director of a state primary school.
    Although Moscow's homeless people are likely to be the hardest hit by the freezing weather, it was unclear if any special measure have been taken to help them survive the bitter cold.
    Two people died of hypothermia on the streets in Moscow on Tuesday night and 15 others were hospitalized as a result of exposure to the cold, Interfax news agency said.
    "It is hard, but what can we do? We keep moving from one place to another to keep warm. And if the policeman is nice he will only ask 'are you OK, not frozen yet?' "said Boris, while huddling on top of a ventilation shaft of an underground shopping centre.
    And for those tourists brave enough to venture out on the streets around the Moscow Kremlin, the sudden cold spell meant an extra attraction.
    "I am from Sydney and it is summer there right now. There it is plus thirty and here it is minus thirty, so it it quite a difference. But it is fun," said Faith, a visitor from Australia.
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