Moscow has been buried underneath two foot of snow, causing massive snow piles, disrupting transport, delaying flights and making it tough for pedestrians to make their way through the city.
Snowfall began late on Thursday and was expected to end later today, but Russia’s emergency service has warned people to stay away from trees.
They’ve also warned of wind gusts of 40mph as temperatures in Moscow plunged to minus 15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit).
Speaking before the snow started, Evgeny Tishkovets from the weather service Fobos said: ‘It’s a real snowstorm, a snow Armageddon, a snow apocalypse. This is not a practice alert, but a combat alert.’
On Friday Moscow saw record snowfall for a Feb. 12, breaking the previous record set for the date in 1973, Russian news agencies reported citing the national meteorological service.
By early Saturday, snow depth in the city reached 56 centimetres (22 inches), Fobos said. This was close to exceeding a record high of 60 cm for accumulated snow on a Feb. 13, it said.
There have been multiple flight delays at the airports in Moscow, a city of more than 12 million people. Unusually for a weekend, traffic was jammed in many places.
Around 60,000 people were working to clear the streets, the Moscow mayor’s office said.
Moscow has been buried underneath two foot of snow, causing massive snow piles, disrupting transport, delaying flights and making it tough for pedestrians to make their way through the city. Pictured: A Russian honour guard stands between snowdrifts at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin in Moscow yesterday
Snowfall began late on Thursday and was expected to end later today, but Russia’s emergency service has warned people to stay away from trees. Pictured: A worker cleans snow from around a Russian Honour Guard yesterday
By early Saturday, snow depth in the city reached 56 centimetres (22 inches), Fobos said. This was close to exceeding a record high of 60 cm for accumulated snow on a Feb. 13, it said. Pictured: People walk in the Red Square yesterday during heavy snowfall
There have been multiple flight delays at the airports in Moscow, a city of more than 12 million people. Unusually for a weekend, traffic was jammed in many places. Pictured: Cars are left completely covered by the snow
A huge bank of snow surrounds a statue today, dedicated to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin in Pushkin Square, Moscow
Around 60,000 people were working to clear the streets, the Moscow mayor’s office said. Pictured: Utility workers clear snow from pavements in the Russian capital earlier today
Giant banks of snow have built up along pathways in Moscow after heavy snowfall. Pictured: Two women walk past a large mound of snow in central Moscow earlier today
It’s not all bad: The heavy snowfall, nearly a record for a February 13 in Russia, has offered the opportunity for many children in the Russian capital to head outside and play
Natalya Seraya, chairwoman of ‘Walruses of the Capital’ winter swimming club is seen braving the freezing temperatures of the Moskva River in Moscow yesterday amid heavy snowfall
The heavy snowfall seen in Moscow over the last few days has been described as a ‘snow apocalypse’. Pictured: People walk through heavy snowfall at the Red Square in Moscow, yesterday
The mass snowfall seen in the Russian capital has made it harder for pedestrians to make their way through the city, with some snow banks piling up to knee-height
Huge piles of snow make the perfect wintery playground for children in Moscow who braved the snowfall for some outdoors fun yesterday
It might not look like it, but beneath the snow is a tall lamppost at the Red Square in Moscow, yesterday. A girl is seen playing on top of the snow bank
A team of workers has been sent out into the city to try and clear away some of the snow to help traffic start flowing again
Multiple flights have been delayed or cancelled in Moscow as a result of the heavy snowfall. Pictured: Children enjoy climbing a bank of snow outside Domodedovo International Airport yesterday
A couple share an intimate moment together during heavy snowfall in the city of Moscow yesterday at the Three Station Square
Traffic has been brought to a halt in parts of the Russian capital, with the heavy snowfall, described as a ‘snow apocalypse’, causing havoc with transport in the city
A woman is seen working hard to clear away large snow banks that have covered the area in front of her home in Khimki, just outside Moscow, yesterday
A snowplow truck removes snow from the road in Moscow on February 12. The city has deployed teams of workers to try and clear the streets following days of heavy snowfall
A man with a shovel fills the bucket of a tractor on a Moscow street on February 12 amid heavy snowfall in the Russian capital
Heavy snowfall in the Russian capital of Moscow has caused traffic chaos, with many cars left completely buried beneath huge banks of snow
The main entrance arch of the VDNKh Exhibition Centre in Moscow is nearly completely covered by banks of snow as the Russian capital is hit by heavy snowfall
An excavator removes huge piles of snow from in front of the large archway of the VDNKh Exhibition Centre in Moscow yesterday
Traffic has nearly been brought to a grinding halt in Moscow as a result of heavy snowfall. Teams have been deployed in the city to clear some of it away. Pictured: A food delivery cyclist battles through the snow to complete a delivery
Trucks on a Russian motorway stand gridlocked yesterday after heavy snowfall in Russia. The snow is expected to continue falling in the Russian capital until at least the end of today