Yandex has a cool “weather by chance” feature that always makes us laugh. Try it for yourself!
Russian Weather Site Gets It Right!
Every summer, the fluff from poplar trees floats around Moscow and other Russian cities, often covering the ground and giving the appearance of a recent snowfall. But where did all these poplar trees come from, and who is to blame? RT gives an interesting and entertaining insight into these pesky poplars in this report.
The past few days have been extremely hot in Russia’s capital with temperatures reaching as high as 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit). Here’s a short video clip from Russia Today covering this extraordinary Moscow weather.
The Aral Sea, located between the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, was once the world’s forth-largest lake. The Soviet government diverted the two main rivers that feed the sea in order to irrigate desert land and grow cotton. As a result, the sea’s surface area has shrunk by approximately 60%, and its volume by 80%. This change has greatly effected the ecology of the surrounding area. The shrinking Aral Sea has even been blamed for recent orange colored snowfall in Siberia.
Here are some interesting photos and satellite views of the Aral Sea.
The Aral Sea from space, August 1964.
Satalite views from 1973, 1987 and 2000 of the shrinking Aral Sea. Photo by NASA.
Dust Storm over the Aral Sea on June 13, 2006. Photo by NASA.
The Shipwreck of the Aral Sea. By Elena Senao.
Abandoned Fishing Boats. By Christopher Herwig.
Link: Wikipedia article on the Aral Sea
Link: The Aral Sea on Wikimapia
Subscribe to the Russian Kafe and find something interesting about Russia and the former Soviet Union every weekday!
Last week, reports of orange, yellow and green snow were coming from the area near Omsk in Siberia. After investigating the cause of the strange colored snow, officials have determined that the snow was not toxic or radioactive.
Specialists say that the color was produced by “sand, salt, dirt and other sediments from the drying up Aral Sea bottom in Kazakhstan that were carried by dust-storms.�
Link: Itar-Tass – Yellow Snow in W Siberia Not Hazardous
After a long warm spell, colder temperatures have finally reached Moscow this winter. Here’s a photo of the newly formed ice on the Moscow River.
“The landscape of Siberia is transforming. New lakes are forming in the north, while existing lakes are getting larger. Some buildings and houses built upon the permafrost are sinking and starting to crack.”
Link: Siberia’s Once-Frozen Tundra Is Melting
A photo of soviet school children with their teacher in the winter snow (1976). From Soviet Photo magazine, via Soviet Photo Daily.
This winter has been unusually warm in many European countries and Russia is no exception. According to some news articles, this is the warmest Russian winter in over 130 years. On Tuesday, the Russian Orthodox Church announced that they are considering holding special services to pray for snow.
“Winters in Russia are always tough, but rarely like this – so warm that bears aren’t hibernating and so gray that humans are having trouble waking up.” – AP
Link: Warm Spell in Russia Wakes Up the Bears
Link: The Russian Orthodox Church may issue a new service to pray for snow
Photo by: Yuri Timofeyev
