The Moscow authorities explained the decision not to return the heating during the cold snap

In Moscow, they called it inappropriate to turn on the heating again during the May cold snap. This was announced on Friday, May 16, by the press service of the Moscow Department of Housing and Communal Services.

In conversation with Lenta.Ru representatives of the department explained that the May cold snap was short-lived, and in the near future, according to forecasters, the air temperature will rise to comfortable levels. In the second half of May, the temperature regime will return to the climatic norm, during the day the air will warm up to +17...+22 degrees.

"Therefore, it is impractical to turn on the heating again, since the process of switching the heat supply system to winter mode would take longer than the weather anomaly lasted," the department explained.

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Earlier on May 16, Pyotr Biryukov, Deputy Mayor of the capital for Housing and Communal Services and Landscaping, announced that specialists from the capital's urban management complex had begun conducting full hydraulic tests of heating networks. According to him, it is precisely because of their implementation that scheduled hot water shutdowns have started in the capital since May 12. The maximum shutdown period is up to 10 days, with a legal limit of 14 days, according to the Moscow City News agency.

On May 15, Sergei Gavrilov, head of the State Duma Committee on Property, Land and Property Relations, stressed the need to update the mechanism for returning heating in the event of a sharp cold snap. kp.ru . The deputy recalled that May 2025 was an unpleasant surprise for residents of Central Russia, when, after a short-term warming that served as the basis for turning off the heating, frosts set in again, writes RT.

Gavrilov also noted that preventive hot water shutdowns should be synchronized with weather conditions, and not with the calendar, Regnum news agency clarifies.

On May 13, household management expert Marina Rubenkova advised using electric heaters to heat the apartment during the cold snap. She advised choosing devices with an automatic shutdown function and a timer, notes 360.ru .

The heating shutdown in Moscow began on May 6. The process is being carried out in stages — first, the heat will be turned off in industrial and administrative buildings, then in residential, schools, kindergartens and hospitals, NSN notes.