Russia’s Far East buried in snow, transport disrupted in China and Japan

January 20, 2026 8:55 PM

Russia’s Far East buried in snow, transport disrupted in China and Japan

Russia's Far East was buried under metres of snow by its heaviest snowfall in 60 years on Tuesday as a winter blast swept across Asia, dusting Shanghai white and grounding flights in Japan's northwest. The cold snap disrupted transport across the region, closing roads in China, stranding air travellers in Japan and leaving parts of Russia’s Far East paralysed. Scientists said the weather was related to waves of cool air coming in from the Arctic, which was simultaneously affecting Eastern Ru...

Record snow fall in Russian far east sows fun, frustration and massive drifts

January 19, 2026 10:55 PM

Record snow fall in Russian far east sows fun, frustration and massive drifts

The biggest snow fall in 60 years on Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula created vast drifts several metres tall that blocked building entrances and buried cars, according to Reuters visuals and weather monitoring stations. In some areas more than 2 m (6.5 feet) of snow has fallen in the first half of January after 3.7 m in December, according to weather monitoring stations. Reuters pictures showed cars almost completely buried in metres of snow and four-wheel drives struggling for tracti...