2019 was hottest year on record for Russia

This year was the hottest ever registered in Russia, the country's weather chief Roman Vilfand said.

"This year in Russia was the hottest for the entire period of instrumental observations," the head of the Gidromedtsentr weather service said.

According to him, Moscow's average temperature for 2019 had hit 7.6-7.7 degrees Celsius, beating the previous record by 0.3 degrees.

Weather records have been kept since 1879 in Moscow and since 1891 in Russia as a whole, Interfax reported.

Known for its notoriously harsh winters, Moscow has seen its warmest December in a century this year.