07.29.10
Record High Temperature in Moscow (Again)
On Tuesday, I posted on how western Russia is in the midst of a record heat wave. On Monday, Moscow had broken the record for the city’s all-time highest temperature, at 37.4 °C (99.3 °F).
However, as the model forecast I showed on Tuesday predicted, Moscow broke that record AGAIN today!
Currently, the all-time highest temperature for Moscow is 37.8 °C (100.0 °F), set on 29 July 2010 at 4:00 pm.
Some parts of Moscow reached temperatures as high as 39 °C (102 °F), but the official record stands at the location where weather records have been taken for the last 130 years.
According to Weather Underground, the previous record temperature for July 29th in Moscow was set in 2002, at 86 °F (30 °C), while the average temperature for this day is only 68 °F (20 °C)!
Some relief may be found soon, though, as a cold front is expected to pass through tomorrow and drop the temperatures a bit.
With regard to the fires around Moscow, they are not as large as the ones in far eastern Russia that John brought to my attention in his comment on Tuesday’s post (check out this amazing satellite image he linked to); however, they are affecting a more populated area and causing serious health problems.
I have seen Alexander Chuchalin, Russia’s chief pulmonary doctor, cited in several news articles as saying the current level of carbon monoxide in the air in Moscow could have the same effect on someone as smoking two packs of cigarettes every three to four hours.
The smoke should at least begin to disperse as the front moves through tomorrow with a chance of showers.