MOSCOW, Jan. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 14 people have frozen to death in Russia this week in a record cold wave which has seen the mercury dip to below minus 30 degrees Celsius.

Two men are cleaning the pool in the Moscow River, Jan, 18, 2006. At least 14 people have frozen to death in Russia this week in a record cold wave which has seen the mercury dip to below minus 30 degrees Celsius. (Xinhua)

    Frostbite has killed 10 mostly homeless people in Volgograd since Tuesday morning, and four more have died of exposure in Moscow, health officials and ambulance service spokesmen were quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying on Wednesday.

    It has been unusually cold in the Russian capital during the past few days, following the arrival of the cold front which blew in from Siberia at the beginning of the week.

    Temperatures dropped sharply from around the freezing mark on Monday morning to below minus 20 degrees Celsius overnight, but plunged by a further -10 C on Wednesday morning.

    The city has introduced a strict energy conservation program, with power cuts to some factories, and the gas monopoly Gazprom has halved supplies to a number of power plants.

    Altogether 107 people have died of exposure in Moscow since October, the Interfax news agency reported. Enditem