Temperatures in Moscow may be scorching this week, but in southern Siberia the weather has proven to be a whole lot chillier — and destructive.
At least seven people suffered serious head injuries after walls of hail the size of golf balls rained down on residents in the Altai Republic, the local branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry said Tuesday.
About 3,000 buildings and countless cars were damaged in the downpour, which shattered an estimated 1,600 square meters of glass, the ministry said in a statement.
A video uploaded to YouTube attests to the size of the hail, which fell Monday in the region's Maiminsky and Gorno-Altai districts.
Another YouTube video captures the moment the hailstorm began, with the hail increasing in severity until the once-green countryside turns into a driving range of icy-white balls.
Across the country, the weather could not have been more different as temperatures on Tuesday soared to a barmy 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit) in Moscow.
The weather bureau said on its website that temperatures in the capital could reach up to 35 C by the end of the week.
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