Dmitry Medvedev calls for urgent action to tackle widespread drought

Since late June central parts of European Russia, the Volga region, southern Urals and Siberia have been suffering from scorching heat, temperatures often reaching 40C in the shade.

"This is a big problem. There has been no anomaly like this in our country for decades," Mr Medvedev told a government meeting in the agricultural Belgorod region near Ukraine yesterday. "We need to figure out how we can preserve at least some of the crop."

Agriculture minister Yelena Skrynnik said farmers in the worst-hit regions were facing bankruptcy and had asked the state for $1.3 billion in loans, and Mr Medvedev ordered officials to increase credit to them.

A state of emergency has been imposed in 16 Russian regions.

"It's a major calamity, the situation is extremely serious," said Viktor Zubkov, the first deputy prime minister responsible for agriculture.

The Russian Grain Union, an industry lobby, said the drought was Russia's worst in 130 years and had already shrivelled grain on nine million hectares - an area the size of Portugal and about one-fifth of the total area sown for this year's harvest.

The combined losses of Russia's farming industry could total $1 billion this year, the Kommersant business daily reported.

Zubkov said it would take a month to even calculate the losses.

Similar weather conditions have occurred only five times - in 1919, 1920, 1936, 1938 and 1972 - since Russia started recording temperatures 130 years ago, said Valery Lukyanov, deputy head of Russia's main weather forecaster Roshydromet.

"This is the sixth year in history when late June and early July pose a real threat from the point of view of abnormal temperatures," he said, adding that Moscow could set its own record if temperatures hit 37C.

The capital's previous high of 36.6C was registered in 1936, Mr Lukyanov said. "God forbid us to set such records," he added.

Restaurants with outside seating are packed and sales of air conditioners and electric fans have soared.