Record warm January temperatures logged in Russian Arctic

Unusually mild temperatures have been recorded in several famously cold Siberian towns this week.

Stunned locals are taking pictures - of the rain, a near unique sight in January.

In Cherskiy - far north in Yakutia - weather watchers registered 2C - in a month when temperatures, according to locals, never reach anywhere near above zero. 

The previous closest, two years ago, was -5C.

Some 400 km to the east, in Pevek, in Chukotka, the thermometers reached a balmy 5C, the warmest ever for 30 January.

This compared to a more normal -27 on Friday. 

Meanwhile, the Pacific port of Magadan which registered temperatures very slightly above zero.

Only a week ago, this Pacific city - well south of the polar circle but famous for its cold - was freezing in temperatures of -40C.

Schools that functioned in the deep cold had to be closed today because of avalanche risks. 

A warm cyclone coming in from the Pacific is blamed - or credited - for the unseasonal weather. 

Some also say it is a feature of climate change.