Analysts have recorded an increase in interest in the news during the January frosts

Extreme frosts and snowfalls in January 2026 significantly changed the behavior of the Russian audience on the Internet: users opened news feeds more often and stayed in the materials longer. These conclusions were reached on January 29 by Zen platform analysts who studied content consumption during the period of abnormally cold weather. Izvestia got acquainted with them.

According to their data, during the sharp cold snap, Russians on average spent 25% more time reading news materials than on days with normal winter temperatures. The most noticeable growth was recorded in Moscow, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk and Tatarstan.

The topics of the publications varied in the regions. In the capital, users were more likely to read news about the work of public utilities, the clearing of streets and the functioning of transport. In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the fight against the elements and the elimination of the consequences of snowfall became the focus of attention. In St. Petersburg, the audience was more interested in snow removal, in Krasnodar, in emergency measures and the work of the transport infrastructure. Reports of extreme temperatures and warnings from the Ministry of Emergency Situations were popular in Novosibirsk, while forecasts and warnings of approaching bad weather were popular in Tatarstan.

Frosty gaps: abnormal cold weather has arrived in most of Russia

And in Chukotka and Yakutia, the temperature will be 25 degrees above normal.

The peak activity of readers during the days of frost occurred in the evening hours — from 18:00 to 23:00, but the night audience also increased. After midnight, users were 30% more likely to turn to the news than during periods without a sharp cold snap. Analysts note that on such days, Russians often return to the feed several times a night, tracking updates on the weather and regional agenda.

According to the platform, residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk spent the most time reading the news during the cold weather - in these cities the average was 40% higher than in other regions.

The growing interest in the winter theme was also reflected in the format of short videos. In VK Clips, users actively posted videos with the tags "#very winter", "#snowtail" and "#rolling hills". In addition, the support of authors through VK Donut has increased: during the frosts and snowfalls, users transferred more than 95 million rubles to bloggers, seeking to gain access to exclusive content and support their favorite creators.

On January 28, Tatyana Pozdnyakova, a leading specialist at the Meteonosti agency, said that this week residents of the capital region will face a sharp change in the weather: light frosts at the beginning of the period will be replaced by heavy snowfall and a blizzard.

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