Authorities in the coal-mining Siberian region of Kemerovo have reportedly covered up snow with white paint to hide evidence of soot and ash pollution.

Footage published by local media Monday showed a woman's hands becoming coated in white paint after she reached out to brush a snow bank outside a municipal recreation center in the town of Mysky.

“You can see the stains... It even sticks,” she said while demonstrating the viscous substance on her fingertips.