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‘Less Snow’: Warm January Weather Breaks Records in Moscow

A woman walks with a stroller near a pond during warm weather in Moscow, Russia, 28 January 2025. (EPA)
A woman walks with a stroller near a pond during warm weather in Moscow, Russia, 28 January 2025. (EPA)
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‘Less Snow’: Warm January Weather Breaks Records in Moscow

A woman walks with a stroller near a pond during warm weather in Moscow, Russia, 28 January 2025. (EPA)
A woman walks with a stroller near a pond during warm weather in Moscow, Russia, 28 January 2025. (EPA)

January 2025 is on track to be one of the warmest in Moscow on record, meteorologists reported on Wednesday, with two of the past days breaking all-time daily temperature highs.

Thermometer readings on Wednesday have not dipped below an "April-like" 3.8 degrees Celsius (38.8 Fahrenheit), much higher than the historical average below freezing, according to Russia's Phobos weather center.

Residents in the capital told AFP there was less snow for children to play with, and that there was "mud everywhere", making dog walks more challenging.

Experts warn more temperature records will be broken in the future as human-driven climate change disrupts global weather patterns.

"Of course, we don't like winter like this... Everything should be in moderation," 68-year-old pensioner Galina Kazakova told AFP in central Moscow.

"It is very bad for nature, because the snow should lie on the fields, so that it melts, so that everything grows well," she added.

Monday and Tuesday were the warmest of those dates since records started, while Wednesday is also set to beat its historical high, Russia's RBK news outlet reported, citing meteorologists.

"January, which is approaching a heat record, continues to surprise," meteorologist Mikhail Leus said on Telegram, posting a video of chanterelle mushrooms poking through patches of snow in the forest.

Central Russia's state meteorological service said Moscow was on track for its "second warmest January" since records began, beaten only by January 2020.

Russian state media reported January 2025 could be warmer than even that year.

Climatologist Alexey Karnaukhov was uncertain about whether this January would be the warmest.

"It's hard to say whether there will be a record. In 2020, there was no stable snow cover in Russia's midland either, and this year is not unique," Karnaukhov told AFP.

"We live in an era of global warming, warm years will become more and more frequent. Even if the current values turn out to be a record, it will definitely not be the last," he told AFP.

On the streets of the capital, residents expressed both joy and concern at the unseasonably warm weather.

"I like it all. It is very pleasant to walk," said 19-year-old student Olga Medvedeva.

"I like winter better the way it was," said Elena Aleksandrova, 73.

"We take the dog for walks, he likes to play in the snow too. Now where can you walk? There is mud everywhere."

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Varieties

Experts: Malnutrition Causes Unrecognized Type of Diabetes

A woman sits with her malnourished child as they wait for treatment at the emergency ward of Dikwa Primary Health Center, where children are stabilized for severe malnutrition, in Dikwa, Borno State, Nigeria, August 27, 2025. REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun
A woman sits with her malnourished child as they wait for treatment at the emergency ward of Dikwa Primary Health Center, where children are stabilized for severe malnutrition, in Dikwa, Borno State, Nigeria, August 27, 2025. REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun
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Experts: Malnutrition Causes Unrecognized Type of Diabetes

A woman sits with her malnourished child as they wait for treatment at the emergency ward of Dikwa Primary Health Center, where children are stabilized for severe malnutrition, in Dikwa, Borno State, Nigeria, August 27, 2025. REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun
A woman sits with her malnourished child as they wait for treatment at the emergency ward of Dikwa Primary Health Center, where children are stabilized for severe malnutrition, in Dikwa, Borno State, Nigeria, August 27, 2025. REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun

Malnutrition can cause its own form of diabetes, health experts said Thursday, calling for "type 5 diabetes" to be recognized globally to help fight the disease in countries already struggling with poverty and starvation.

The most common form of diabetes, type 2, can be caused by obesity and occurs when adults become resistant to the hormone insulin. Type 1, mostly diagnosed in childhood, arises when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin.

But diabetes researchers have been tracking another form of the disease, which often appears in people aged under 30. It also affects insulin production but is less severe than type 1.

And rather than being linked to being overweight or obese like type 2, it affects people who are underweight because they do not eat enough.

A paper published in medical journal The Lancet Global Health shows that more than 25 million people suffer from this "type 5 diabetes", mostly in developing countries.

"We call upon the international diabetes community to recognize this distinct form of the disease," the authors wrote, reflecting a consensus reached by the International Diabetes Federation earlier this year.

The experts settled on calling this form of diabetes type 5, though types 3 and 4 have not been officially recognized.

Diabetes driven by malnutrition is not a new discovery -- in the 1980s and 1990s, the World Health Organization classified a form of "malnutrition-related diabetes".

But the UN agency abandoned this classification in 1999 due to a lack of agreement among experts about whether undernourishment alone was enough to cause diabetes.

Since then, numerous studies in countries including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Uganda, Pakistan and Rwanda have indicated that this is possible.

The exact link between malnutrition and this strand of diabetes remains unknown. The efficacy of existing diabetes treatments that do not focus on weight loss on type 5 is also unclear.

The best way to fight the disease involves supporting programs already working to combat poverty and hunger, the authors of the paper said.

This includes giving people access to "low-cost, energy-dense staple foods high in protein and complex carbohydrates" such as lentils, legumes, oil-enriched cereals and fortified grains, they added.

Varieties

Riyadh Municipality Announces Development in Four Districts to Promote Livability

The project represents a qualitative step within a package of development initiatives. SPA
The project represents a qualitative step within a package of development initiatives. SPA
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Riyadh Municipality Announces Development in Four Districts to Promote Livability

The project represents a qualitative step within a package of development initiatives. SPA
The project represents a qualitative step within a package of development initiatives. SPA

The Riyadh Municipality announced the enhancement of central areas across four districts to promote livability and people-centered urban development, covering a length of 14.2 kilometers and a total area of 376,000 square meters, as part of projects aimed at improving the quality of life in the capital’s districts and enhancing the efficiency of urban infrastructure in line with residents' needs.

The project covers the districts of Al-Rawdah, with a length of 4.4 km and an area of 121,000 square meters; Al-Rawabi, with a length of 2.8 km and an area of 52,000 square meters; Al-Suwaidi Al-Gharbi, with a length of 3.5 km and an area of 127,000 square meters; and Al-Mughrizat, with a length of 3.5 km and an area of 76,000 square meters.

The project includes the construction of pedestrian pathways with a total length of 14 km, bicycle lanes exceeding 9 km, the planting of 480,000 trees and shrubs, providing multiple urban plazas, and preparing 4,000 parking spaces.

The project represents a qualitative step within a package of development initiatives aimed at transforming urban spaces into vibrant environments and enhancing recreational, social, and economic activities within districts. It seeks to raise the level of urban sustainability by improving the efficiency of space utilization and linking these areas to key destinations and essential services.

The developments reflect the municipality’s approach to improving the urban environment by upgrading public facilities, enhancing their functional and visual appeal, and providing integrated settings that support modern lifestyles for residents and visitors.

The project also aims to strengthen the balance between urban development and community needs, in line with the objectives of sustainability and innovation in urban planning.

Varieties

12-million-year-old Porpoise Fossil Found in Peru

A complete petrified skeleton of Lomacetus sp., an ancestor of modern porpoises dating back more than 10 million years, is unveiled at the Geological, Mining, and Metallurgical Institute (INGEMMET) in Lima on September 17, 2025. (Photo by Ernesto BENAVIDES / AFP)
A complete petrified skeleton of Lomacetus sp., an ancestor of modern porpoises dating back more than 10 million years, is unveiled at the Geological, Mining, and Metallurgical Institute (INGEMMET) in Lima on September 17, 2025. (Photo by Ernesto BENAVIDES / AFP)
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12-million-year-old Porpoise Fossil Found in Peru

A complete petrified skeleton of Lomacetus sp., an ancestor of modern porpoises dating back more than 10 million years, is unveiled at the Geological, Mining, and Metallurgical Institute (INGEMMET) in Lima on September 17, 2025. (Photo by Ernesto BENAVIDES / AFP)
A complete petrified skeleton of Lomacetus sp., an ancestor of modern porpoises dating back more than 10 million years, is unveiled at the Geological, Mining, and Metallurgical Institute (INGEMMET) in Lima on September 17, 2025. (Photo by Ernesto BENAVIDES / AFP)

Peruvian paleontologists on Wednesday unveiled the 12-million-year-old fossil of a prehistoric porpoise found near the country's Pacific coast.

The fossil, which measures 3.5 meters (about 11.5 feet) long, was found in July by Peruvian paleontologist Mario Urbina in the Ocucaje desert, around 350 kilometers (217 miles) south of the capital Lima, AFP reported.

Presenting his find at the Geological, Mining, and Metallurgical Institute in Lima, Urbina said it was a rare specimen of a porpoise from the Pisco geological formation, noted for its well-preserved marine fossils.

Another paleontologist, Mario Gamarra, said the relic's excellent condition would allow scientists new avenues for studying the prehistoric marine mammal: "how it moved, how it swam, what it ate and for how long it lived."

The Ocucaje desert is a paradise for fossil hunters.

The skeletons of four-legged dwarf whales, dolphins, sharks, and other species from the Miocene period (between five million and 23 million years ago) have all been discovered in the area.