PMR heatwave brings record temperatures for May; locals hit the beach

As the heatwave strikes Tiraspol, residents head out to the lake to cool themselves on the nearby beach

DNESTROVSK (Tiraspol Times) - Summer has arrived early in Trans-Dnestr, and May this year has seen some of the hottest temperatures on record. The temperature in some parts of Tiraspol soared to 34.2 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the hottest day in the country so far this year.

The unrecognized country will see hot weather during all of this whole week, Vitaliy Basok, the director of the PMR Hydro-meteorological Center told news agency “Lenta PMR”.

Many local residents left Tiraspol for nearby Dnestrovsk and the beaches of Lake Kuchurgan.

Meanwhile on the same day the northern city of Kamenka recorded a temperature of 33.4 degrees Celsius in the early afternoon, the hottest day for May so far.

The fury of a mild heatwave continued to sizzle the country yesterday, and is likely to continue for next couple of days.
The Met director said rain is likely to sweep the country during the first week of June to wash away the heat. Some rains are likely by Sunday, but although rain is expected by weekend, the heat still stays: Median tempeture during the day will be around 30 C, and 17 to 20 C at night. Water temperature will stay the same during the week: 23 to 25 C”, Vitaliy Basok noted.

Muscovites in heat

Not just Tiraspol and environs in suffering under the heat. From Moscow, Reuters reports that twenty-eight people, many of them drunk, have drowned in the Russian capital this month as Muscovites cool off from a record heatwave in ponds, fountains and canals.

" - The main reason for the deaths is that people bathe in places were they are not supposed to ... but at the same time 75 percent of them are not sober," Reuters reported Vladimir Plyasunov, the head of Moscow's lifeguards, as saying.

" - Because of the unusually high temperatures all our lifeguards have been put on high alert," Plyasunov told the Vesti-24 news channel.

Moscow has been sweltering this week in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit). Meteorologists said Monday was the hottest May day in the city since records began.

While the Russian capital's highest reading this week has been 33.2 degrees, DPA reported that the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don saw temperatures soar to 40.4 degrees last week. This is the highest reading ever recorded in the city. (With information from Reuters, DPA)

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