Krasnoyarsk, April 3 (RIA Novosti) - The temperature record of the century was reached in several cities of Eastern Siberia, where the air warmed up to 21-24 degrees Celsius (70-75 Fahrenheit), Oksana Salnikova, a senior meteorologist of the Hydrometeorological Centre of Krasnoyarsk told RIA Novosti Thursday.
This kind of temperature in the region is typical for mid-June, she said. On Wednesday, a record-setting 21.1 degrees Celsius (70 Fahrenheit) were recorded in Krasnoyarsk. "In the capital of Khakassia - Abakan - we saw 24.6 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit). This is the hottest April day on record since meteorological observation in the region had started in 1914," Salnikova added.
She added that the previous maximum temperature recorded in Krasnoyarsk was 15.5 degrees Celsius (60 Fahrenheit), and 18.1 degrees Celsius (65 Fahrenheit) in Abakan, set in 1938.
In the last 35 years, the average temperature in Russia increased by 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), while the average figure worldwide is 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.4 Fahrenheit), government meteorologists have said.
Some parts of Russia have shown even more extreme warming. In the Arctic, south Chukotka and Kamchatka regions temperatures have risen 150 to 200 percent more than in the rest of the country.