Toxic black snow covers Siberian coalmining region

Activists say 'post-apocalyptic' scenes in Kuzbass highlight manmade ecological disaster

Residents of a coalmining region in Siberia have been posting videos online showing entire streets and districts covered in toxic black snow that critics say highlight a manmade ecological catastrophe.

In one video, filmed in Kiselyovsk, a town in the Kuzbass region, a woman drives past mounds of coal-coloured snow stretching to the horizon, covering a children's playground and the courtyards of residential buildings. The scenes in the footage were described as "post-apocalyptic" by Russian media.