**Record snowfall and extreme cold disrupt flights and daily life in Russia**
Moscow, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Russia is experiencing record snowfall and freezing temperatures, with parts of Siberia plummeting to minus 56 degrees Celsius (minus 69 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday.
In the Sakha Republic, temperatures plunged below minus 50 C, with the region’s capital, Yakutsk, recording temperatures between minus 44 C to minus 47 C. The city, located 5,000 km (3,100 miles) east of Moscow, is one of the coldest in the world.
Oymyakon, an area in Sakha, experienced an even more extreme temperature of minus 56 degrees Celsius, with forecasters saying it would feel like more than minus 60 degrees Celsius due to the wind and humidity.
The extreme cold has disrupted daily life, with flights delayed at Moscow’s airports and the city blanketed in more than 35 cm of snow in just one day. Temperatures in the capital and the surrounding region are forecast to fall to about minus 20 C later this week, and in the Urals, temperatures are expected to drop to minus 40 C.
The frigid temperatures are less common in recent years due to climate change, causing concern about the increasing signs of permafrost thawing in the region. This has raised worries about the environmental impact of the extreme weather conditions.
This record snowfall and cold snap highlight the challenges faced by Russia as it copes with the impacts of climate change, disrupting daily life and posing risks to the environment.
Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow
Editing by Jamie Freed and Gareth Jones