Russia's 'Dubak' challenge creates icy works of art

Elena Deleske in Tobolsk, Siberia did the Dubak challenge with a sunset backdrop

Temperatures of -40C (-40F) and -50C (-58F) in parts of eastern Russia haven't stopped people getting out and having some fun in the snow and ice.

According to the state news agency TASS, current temperatures in Russia are much colder than average for the time of year.

Unsurprisingly, the trick of throwing boiling water in the air and watching it turn into ice - which was popular in North America during the polar vortex - has become a trend. People across the country have been taking part in the "Dubak" challenge, which is Russian slang for bitingly cold weather.

In Yekaterinburg, east of the Ural Mountains, Olga Shklyarova took this image of a round cloud of ice

Jumping for joy or to keep warm in the wintry weather in Chelyabinsk a city close to the Ural Mountains

Olya Kalinina did the Dubak challenge in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia

Rinat Minkov's wheel of ice water

Alexander Borozdin from Nizhnevartovsk added a touch of colour and used two vessels of water to create this angel-like effect

Just a word of caution it can be dangerous to throw boiling water into the air in any direction.

By Andree Massiah, BBC UGC & Social News and Damien Sharkov, BBC Monitoring