The United States may be using a “climate weapon” to cause an unseasonably warm winter in Russia, a lawmaker has claimed in an interview with the Govorit Moskva radio station Tuesday.
Weather experts say the anomaly in Moscow and parts of Russia this winter was caused by an atmospheric front from the Atlantic Ocean.
“I’m convinced these are not random changes in the climate,” Alexei Zhuravlyov, a member of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, told Govorit Moskva.
“If [Russia's permafrost] melts now, it will be a disaster. ... The Americans know this and they’re testing this weapon,” the leader of the nationalist Rodina party said, alleging that the U.S. tests are in violation of international bans.
Zhuravlyov, 57, previously blamed last summer’s Siberian forest fires and Moscow storms on U.S. “climate weapons.”
The theory that the U.S. deploys climate-change weapons against Russia dates back to at least 2010, when Moscow sweltered under record temperatures that summer. Back then, a Russian political scientist claimed that the alleged weapons “provoke droughts, erase crops and induce various anomalous phenomena in certain countries."
Forecasters expect above-average temperatures in Russia this January and February, the RBC news website reported Tuesday.
In addition to an unusually warm winter, with a lack of traditional snow cover in December, Moscow experienced its coldest summer on record in 2019.
Russia remains a relatively climate-skeptic nation, with recent polls saying that less than half of Russians believe climate change poses a major threat to their country.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
