Russia's Far East was buried under the heaviest snowfall in 60 years on Jan. 20 as a powerful winter system swept across parts of Asia. A state of emergency has been in effect in the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky urban district since Jan. 16, the city administration said on Jan. 20. Kamchatka's weather conditions in December and the first half of January are extreme and unprecedented for about 60 years, Vera Polyakova, head of Kamchatka's hydrometeorology service, said on Jan. 20, according to Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti.