A historic late‐spring blizzard on May 2 blanketed Moscow with up to 15 cm of snow—the first May 2 snow cover in 75 years—toppling trees onto cars and cutting power for over 26,000 residents. The record snowfall came a day after Moscow was hit by record rainfall and an unusually mild winter. The capital city and its outer suburbs saw 71% of the precipitation usually recorded in May in just 36 hours.
A powerful snowstorm battered Russia’s Far East Kamchatka Peninsula, grounding flights, stranding motorists, and triggering avalanche warnings in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
Authorities in Russia’s Tyva Republic declared a state of emergency after eight wildfires grew to over 324 hectares, banning public entry to forests.
Strong winds and dry weather are fueling rapidly spreading wildfires across Russia’s Zabaikalsky region, with over 456,000 hectares burning and firefighters racing to protect populated areas.
A vessel towing two barges ran aground in the Yenisei River near Kazachinsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai, on June 8, 2025, spilling around 30 metric tons of diesel fuel over a 50-km stretch of shoreline.
Three firefighters who went missing battling wildfires in the Zabaikalsky region of Russia’s Far East were found dead, prompting a criminal investigation amid a large-scale state of emergency.
Sakha is now the fourth region in the Far East where a state of emergency is currently in place due to wildfires. The other three are the Zabaykalsky and Amur regions, as well as the republic of Buryatia. Russia’s wildfire season officially began in early March. By mid-April, regions in the Far East recorded nearly twice as many fires as they had during the same period last year, with most blazes caused by human negligence.
Unseasonably warm weather triggered ice breakups and subsequent flooding in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region, prompting emergency evacuations and road closures as rising water levels affected multiple rivers.
Russia has declared a federal emergency due to a significant oil spill along the Black Sea coast, affecting 55 kilometers of coastline, following the damage of two oil tankers during a storm.
A severe storm in the Kerch Strait damaged two Russian oil tankers, resulting in an oil spill and the death of one crew member, while rescue operations were delayed due to adverse weather conditions.
Worsening drought in southern Russia’s Rostov and Krasnodar regions could wipe out up to 25% of key grain and oilseed crops, prompting states of emergency in 30 districts.
Two people were killed after a torrent of water poured over a cofferdam in northwestern Russia early Monday and flooded the surrounding area, authorities said.
Temperatures in Russia’s capital hit an all-time high of 32 degrees Celsius on Tuesday – Moscow’s hottest day in over 130 years. The heatwave follows a spate of volatile weather in the city and other parts of Russia. In June, after severe rainfall flooded parts of the city, Moscow was struck by Storm Edgar, which killed two people and injured dozens more. A rare tornado was also sighted in the Moscow region.
Around 40 daily temperature records were broken across Russia and annexed Crimea on Tuesday as hot summer weather gripped the country. The unprecedented temperatures have engulfed Russia from its central regions to the Far East, reaching a maximum of 38.7 degrees Celsius in the village of Mamakan in southeastern Siberia’s Irkutsk region.
Environmentalists say the latest flooding may have sent radioactive substances into the river, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of people living near the banks of the Tobol downstream. State nuclear agency Rosatom, whose subsidiary operates the mines at the Dobrovolnoye uranium deposit, denied that its mining facilities were impacted by the flood.
The swelling Tom River in southwestern Siberia has led to a partial dam collapse in the city of Tomsk. This year’s heavy rainfall, combined with abnormally warm spring weather, has led to severe flooding in Russia’s Urals and western Siberia. So far, the floods have submerged around 15,600 homes and 28,000 land plots in 193 Russian towns and cities across 33 regions.
Oil from damaged Russian tankers has contaminated beaches in Crimea, with significant environmental cleanup efforts underway.
Forest fires have swept across Russia’s Siberian and Far East regions, signaling a harsh 2025 wildfire season with over 52 active blazes, widespread damage, and critical resource shortages.
See photo gallery.
At least 2,500 dead Caspian seals have been found on the shores of Russia’s Caspian Sea coast, local authorities said Sunday.
All Topics
All Countries
Any Date
Apply