People cool off in a fountain during a hot summer day in downtown Moscow on Tuesday. Moscow has been hit by a historic heat wave this week, with temperatures reaching a 120-year record due to the effects of climate change, Russia's weather service said Tuesday. Photo: VCG

Russia's meteorological service said Tuesday the country could see its hottest summer on record, driven by climate change, after a record-breaking heat wave in June.

Moscow was hit by a historic heat wave at the end of June, with temperatures reaching a 120-year record. 

"We estimate that temperatures will be high in the country both in the second half of July and August," meteorologist Roman Vilfand of the Rosgidromet agency said at a press conference. 

He added that it was "of course possible" that it will be the hottest summer ever recorded in Russia.

Vilfand said the average temperature in the European part of Russia was the highest since records began 130 years ago.

Russia as a whole saw its hottest June since 2012.

Vilfand said that not all of the country was affected by the heat wave, saying there were "swathes of cold in western Siberia."

Vilfand also explained that climate change is leading to a shift in atmospheric circulation, due to significant temperature contrasts between the country's Arctic and southern regions.

"There are more and more anticyclones in northern regions which increases the risk of fires," he said. 

AFP