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Moscow Hit By Biggest Snowfall In 50 Years

Moscow Hit By Biggest Snowfall In 50 Years

Moscow has been blanketed by the biggest November snowfall in 50 years, disrupting flights and causing havoc on the roads.

The snowstorm has dumped nearly 12cm (4.7ins) on the Russian capital in 24 hours – a third of the amount of snow usually expected for the whole of November.

The roads in the capital were clogged up and bulldozers were brought in to clear Red Square.

Some 70 flights from Moscow's largest airport, Domodedovo, were disrupted overnight but the service has now returned to normal.

Moscow's city hall said the Russian capital had not seen such a big snowfall in November for 50 years.

Forecasters say that the storm will continue until Friday morning.

The record snowfall follows the publication of a World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) report which said that January to October had been the ninth warmest period globally since records began in 1850.

It said that extreme weather patterns, such as snowstorms, heatwaves, droughts and floods, were evidence of climate change.

This year heatwaves hit Russia and the US, which registered 15,000 new daily temperature records in March alone.

China suffered drought, and flooding struck many parts of Western Africa. Russia suffered significant flooding in western regions in July.

Michel Jarraud, the chief of the WMO, said: "Climate change is taking place before our eyes and will continue to do so."