Residents are lamenting a December without the constant layer of snow that defines Russian winters, when what little light there is typically reflects off the white covering and brightens the days.

Video | In northern Siberia, the warming climate is leaving people feeling like the ground is "going out from under their feet."

Scientists say the world's permafrost is getting warmer, with temperatures increasing by an average of 0.3 C over a decade.

In the vast plains that blanket much of northern Russia a once-unthinkable business is taking hold – soybean farming. It’s the result of years of increasing global temperatures, which are thawing the permafrost and turning the land into fertile soil.

Badgers usually remain fast asleep until the end of February but, Siberia's mild winter caused a shorter hibernation period. On Monday, the temperature rose to 2 degrees Celsius. It was minus 24 C on the same day last year.