Temperatures in Moscow have broken a tenth record since the beginning of August, with temperatures of 32.5 degrees Celsius (90.5 degrees Fahrenheit) recorded on Wednesday, the Fobos meteorological center said.
The previous record of 31.2 degrees Celsius (88.2 degrees Fahrenheit) for August 18 was registered in 2008, a meteorologist at the center said.
This is the 21st temperature record registered in Moscow this summer. Two records were broken in June, ten in July and ten in the first half of August.
A scorching heat wave has gripped much of western Russia since mid-June, sparking wildfires and causing the worst drought in decades.
Moscow and a dozen other cities were wrapped in a thick layer of smog for days on end in early August. Health experts said pollution levels were so high that breathing was as dangerous as smoking several packs of cigarettes a day.
This week has seen a considerable drop in temperatures, signaling a possible end to the heat wave, which meteorologists earlier predicted would last until mid-August.
MOSCOW, August 18 (RIA Novosti)
