Siberian city which sees snow and ice for most of the year hits record-breaking highs as mercury rises to 32C Temperatures in Norilsk have hit a record-breaking high of 32C Previous record in the city was 31.9C in 1979, according to reports Average July temperature in Norilsk is 13.6C and lowest ever is -61C Others however have suggested record high still stands at 32.2C One of the coldest and most northern cities in the world has witnessed record-breaking temperatures, reaching heights more usually associated with the Mediterranean. The Siberian nickel capital of Norilsk recently saw temperatures hit 32C, beating the record from 1979. According to reports, the previous hottest temperature in the industrial city in the Kransnoyarsk region, which lies above the Arctic Circle, was 31.9C. Temperatures in the Siberian city of Norilsk recently hit 32C, smashing records from as far back as 1979. Picture shows sunbathers at Lake Baikal, in the south of Siberia The average July temperature in Norilsk is 13.6C, while the coldest-ever temperature recorded is -61C A 21-year-old student, identified only as Polina, told The Siberian Times: 'I've never worn a bikini before in Norilsk, just to top up my tan.' Forecasters have predicted the hot spell in the city, which is built on permafrost and sees frosty weather 280 days a year, was going to last until yesterday. The average July temperature in the city is 13.6C, while the coldest-ever temperature recorded is -61C. One weather historian however believes the warmest temperature recorded in the city was 32.2C, according to the Huffington Post. According to reports, the previous hottest temperature in the industrial city in the Kransnoyarsk region was 31.9C It has also been reported that wildly fluctuating temperatures have been seen in July, with the first on the month the coldest measured in years. Earlier this week MailOnline reported how two weeks of warm weather in the high Arctic had caused an aquamarine lake to begin forming since July 13, according to the North Pole Environmental Observatory's camera. The National Snow and Ice Data Centre reported that temperatures in early July were one to three degrees Celsius higher than the year's average over most of the Arctic Ocean.