Severe heat, made worse in areas by drought, has already gripped a wideswath of the Russian heartland since the first of summer, and prospects are foreven more of the abnormal heat.Health, water supply and crops have all taken a hit in many areas.


A man enjoys waterjets seeking coolness ina fountain at the Alexandrovsky Garden outside the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday,July 13, 2010. A heat wave hit the city with temperatures going higher than 30C (86 F). (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)Average temperatures for the summer so far have been at least 10 F abovenormal between the western borders and the Ural Mountains. Moscow, forinstance, has tallied more than 10 F above normal has of July 13. In SaintPetersburg, the average temperature since the start of summer has been almost12 F above normal.Readings as high as 92 F in Moscow and 90 F in Saint Petersburg have brokenrecords.

Other regions have fared worse.

Regions between Moscow and the Caucasus region have reached 95 F and, alongthe lower Volga River, even as high as 105 F, during July with more such heatforecast for the coming days. Normally scanty, early summer rain in southernRussia has fallen even further short of usual.

Some bigger cities weathering the highest temperatures are Lipetsk, Tambov,Ryazan, Kursk and Voronezh.

The Russian Prime Minister has spoken the words "disaster" and "drought" indescribing the situation.

Government health officials have called on people to take an afternoonbreak, or siesta, to limit strenuous work and sun exposure during the hottestpart of the day. Already, health effects have included heat stroke and severesunburn as well as the compounding of effects from such conditions as diabetesand heart problems.

The Russian Army has even halted, temporarily, the use of incendiaryammunition in training exercises. It also relaxed the dress code for soldiersto lessen the heat discomfort.

Crop losses have mounted across what is one of the world's top breadbaskets,an agricultural belt that yielded a 97-million metric ton grain harvest in2009. One spokesman for Russian agriculture has stated that drought, made worseby the heat, has laid waste to 9 million out of 48 million hectares of plantedland.

Little relief is in sight. For the next seven days, for instance, averagetemperatures will be 5 F to 10 F above normal over nearly all of EuropeanRussia with temperatures likely to hold well above normal during the followingweek.

At least one week of below normal, even zero, rainfall is also in the offingover a vast area.

Story by Jim Andrews, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist.