A vicious frost held Moscow in its grip on Tuesday as record warm weather at the start of December gave way to temperatures of minus 25 degrees Celsius (-13 degrees Fahrenheit).

The biting cold comes after an all-time record high temperature for December 3 was registered in the Russian capital. As the temperature soared to 8.2 degrees Celsius, bears at the Moscow zoo were unable to begin hibernating and mushrooms began growing in nearby forests.

All that is but a distant memory now, as current icy temperatures are around 16 degrees Celsius below the norm for the time of year.

But temperatures are unlikely to drop further, the head of the meteorological service Gidrometeobureau told RIA Novosti. Alexei Lyahov said the mercury was expected to soar to minus 18-21 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti)