A temperature of 8.1 degrees Celsius (46.58 degrees Fahrenheit) was recorded in Moscow on Wednesday, the highest for 111 years, the Meteonovosti website said

"The temperature in Moscow is 8.1 degrees above zero, which is one degree more than the absolute maximum temperature, registered in 1898," the website said.

Meteorologists were quoted as saying the temperature is expected to rise. Last year saw a temperature record for December, when the mercury in Moscow soared to 9.4 degrees Celsius.

Alexei Kokorin, who heads WWF Russia's Climate and Energy program, said a sharp change in the weather could be dangerous for the country's flora and fauna. If a severe frost follows a warm spell, many animals and plants could die, he said, adding "the longer it [the warm spell] lasts, the greater the possibility of tragedy."

The unusually warm weather has also seen mushrooms growing in forests near Moscow

MOSCOW, December 2 (RIA Novosti)