"It's become warmer in Moscow over the past 30 years," the head of the Russian Weather Centre Alexander Bedritsky said.

Three decades ago the mean winter air temperature in Moscow was minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), but this has now risen to an average of minus eight degrees (18 degrees Fahrenheit), Bedritsky said, as quoted by the ITAR-TASS news agency.

The rise in the winter temperatures "is due to global warming of the planet, as a result of which the mean air temperature on Earth has risen by 0.6 degrees" over the past century, the expert said.

For Russians, the good news is that the greatest rise in winter temperatures has occurred in the chilly Siberian and Yakutia (north of Siberia) regions, he said.

The bad news is that "with the temperatures there often dipping to as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 60 Fahrenheit), the difference will be virtually undetectable."

Bedritsky predicted that over the coming century, the average air temperature around the globe could rise by between 2.5 and 4.5 degrees Celsius.

Many climatologists believe that global warming is being brought about by the emission of so-called greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide, with consequences that will range from small to catastrophic according to future carbon levels.

Swiss weather researchers said Tuesday that Europe this year experienced its hottest summer for at least 500 years.

SPACE.WIRE