Moscow and the surrounding region were sweltering on Wednesday as temperatures soared to levels not seen in more than a century, with the state weather monitor warning of dangerously hot nights.
Temperatures in the Russian capital reached 32.5 Celsius (90.5 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, beating a record set in 1917, said Rosgidromet meteorological service director Roman Vilfand.
Vilfand told the RIA Novosti news agency that in the coming nights the temperature would not fall below 24.5 degrees, saying that these “Egyptian nights” were dangerous because they did not allow people to recover from the high daytime temperatures.
He said he expected temperatures to drop by 10 degrees over the next few days, with thunderstorms and strong winds, before the heat returns next week.
Muscovites tried to cool off in public fountains and parks.
“It’s very difficult,” 70-year-old Monira Galimova, who looked tired, told AFP as she sat at a bus stop.
“We don’t sleep at night… It’s very difficult, especially for our age group.”
Olga Kryshina, 34, who works in property renovations, sat to cool off near a fountain near the Bolshoi Theater.
Unlike many Muscovites who fled to their traditional summer “dacha” homes, Kryshina said she had to stay in the city to work and only “dreamed of traveling” outside urban areas.
Abnormal temperatures “more than 7 degrees above the climate norm” are expected until the end of the week, Rosgidromet said on its website.
The heat wave hit the Moscow region, as well as the southern and western regions of Kursk, Belgorod and Voronezh.
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