The climate in Russia

Climate zones of Russia

The northern parts of the country, including Murmansk and Siberia, lie in the cold polar zone of the Arctic Ocean. Further south, large parts of the country are in the temperate climate zone and the southernmost regions near the Black Sea belong to the subtropics. Far to the east, near Japan, there is a monsoon climate. With an area of over 17 million km², Russia does not have a uniform climate.

Temperatures within the elongated country are subject to extreme fluctuations. While it can get as cold as -60°C at night in eastern Siberia, the steppe regions of the central country often have temperatures of 35 degrees and higher. Precipitation is generally lower. Winds are very dry in large parts of Russia, and humidity is also lower as the weather gets colder.

Why it is so cold in Russia

Most of Russia's cities are located west of the Ural Mountains and below the Arctic Circle in more temperate climates. Over 80 percent of the country's population lives here. Although it gets up to 27 degrees Celsius in the summer, even in Moscow, the winters are harsh. The fact this region it is comparatively cold is due to the topography of the country. There are no mountains on the northern coasts, so arctic winds can penetrate deep into the interior. The Urals run almost on a north-south axis between the 62nd and 66th degrees of longitude and offer no protection from the cold air masses of the Arctic. Even in the regions further east and south near Irkutsk, close to Mongolia, there is still a subarctic climate with temperatures as low as -30 degrees in the winter months. At the same time, the city lies on the 52nd degree of latitude at the same altitude as Central Europe.

Yakutsk: Coldest city in the world

The coldest city in the world is Yakutsk in the Far Eastern Republic of Sakha, about 4,900 km from Moscow. While it can reach up to 30 degrees in the summer, the temperatures sink in the winter regularly to values under -45 degrees. In such weather conditions, no car will start and even the supply of drinking water is problematic. The winter here lasts eight months on average.

Temperature records of the last 204 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1820 to February 2024 was reported by the Yashkul weather station. In July 2010, the record temperature of 44.0 °C was reported here. The hottest meteorological summer from June to August, based on all 306 weather stations in Russia below 1,070 meters altitude, was recorded in 1938 with an average temperature of 20.0 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 12.7 degrees Celsius.

The coldest day in these 204 years was reported by the Ojmjakon weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -68.7 °C in February 2002. Ojmjakon lies at an altitude of 740 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (December to February) was in 1969 with an average temperature of -22.6 °C. In Russia, it is usual to have about 6.1 degrees more at -16.5 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in November 1995. With 19.7 mm per day, the Petropavlovsk Kamchatskij weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 204 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Krasnaya Polyana. The driest region is near Ostrov Chetyrekhstolbovoy.

Record months last year

We compared the record values of the past months with those of the same months in previous years. We used the same criteria to examine the respective maximum and minimum values in the categories of average temperature, precipitation, hours of sunshine and the maximum and minimum temperatures measured throughout the country. We have listed all measured values that have not been reached in Russia for 10 or more years.

• With 3.66 hours of sunshine per day in February 2024, there was more sunshine than in any February in the last 12 years (4.17 hours in 2012).
• With 1.97 hours of sunshine per day in January 2024, there was more sunshine than in any January in the last 16 years (2.02 hours in 2008).
• With 1.74 liters of precipitation in 2023, November was the wettest in 71 years (2.05 l/m² in 1952).
• With 1.78 liters of precipitation in 2023, October was the wettest in 26 years (1.85 l/m² in 1997).
• With 5.58 hours of sunshine per day in September 2023, there was more sunshine than in any September in the last 18 years (5.59 hours in 2005).
• At 16.09°C, August 2023 was the warmest August in 71 years (17.15°C in 1952).
• The lowest temperature of -7.20°C reached in July 2023 was last seen in the same month 11 years ago (-9.40°C in 2012).
• With just 1.02 liters of precipitation in 2023, May was drier than it had been for 30 years (1.01 l/m² in 1993).
• With 8.60 hours of sunshine per day in May 2023, there was more sunshine than in any May in the last 12 years (8.66 hours in 2011).
• The lowest temperature of -24.90°C reached in May 2023 was last seen in the same month 11 years ago (-26.40°C in 2012).
• At -1.49°C, April 2023 was the coldest April in 13 years (-2.39°C in 2010).
• With 7.74 hours of sunshine per day in April 2023, there was more sunshine than in any April in the last 13 years (8.00 hours in 2010).
• The lowest temperature of -43.80°C reached in April 2023 was last seen in the same month 16 years ago (-49.60°C in 2007).
• With 1.07 liters of precipitation in 2023, March was the wettest in 70 years (1.20 l/m² in 1953).
• With 5.08 hours of sunshine per day in March 2023, there was less sunshine than in any March in the last 28 years (4.88 hours in 1995).
• The lowest temperature of -54.90°C reached in March 2023 was last seen in the same month 21 years ago (-63.60°C in 2002).

The most recent months after February 2024 are not yet available here. We only calculate climatic comparisons after a large number of weather stations on a continent have checked and published their data.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1975 - 2023

In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 3 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 1975 to 2023, there were only these 3 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (Arhangelsk, Juzhno Sahalinsk, Jakutsk). From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was July 2022 at 20.0 °C. January 1985 was the coldest month with an average temperature of -28.6 °C.

The average annual temperature was about -2.4 °C in the years after 1975 and about -0.1 °C in the last years before 2023. So in less than 49 years, it has increased by about 2.3 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 3 weather stations in Russia. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level. Thus, if a disproportionate number of weather stations are located in a small area, their number does not affect the national average.