Precipitation in the form of “diamond dust” fell in Moscow

Leading specialist of the weather center “Phobos” Yevgeny Tishkovets said that the air temperature in Moscow on the night of December 3 was minus 13.5, being the lowest since the beginning of winter.

In the morning, at the VDNKh base station in the capital, a meteorological observer recorded an atmospheric phenomenon called ice needles, diamond dust, or “clear sky precipitation.” Tishkowitz said that this atmospheric phenomenon is rarely observed in Moscow.

Ice needles are tiny ice crystals that float in the air in frosty weather. Such precipitation is more often observed in Siberia and the Far East. At night, they can look like luminous pillars above the lanterns.