Climate of Russia


The climate of Russia is formed under the influence of several determining factors. The enormous size of the country and the remoteness of many areas from the sea result in the dominance of the continental climate, which is prevalent in European and Asian Russia except for the tundra and the extreme southwest. Mountains in the south obstructing the flow of warm air masses from the Indian Ocean and the plain of the west and north makes the country open to Arctic and Atlantic influences. Russia's climate, despite its enormous geographical extent, is generally warm to hot in the summer and cold to very cold in the winter, with snow cover typically present over the vast majority of the country's territory in the winter months, with the exception of the country's southernmost territories, the North Caucasus. Russia's far northeast, subject to an extreme subarctic climate, experiences the coldest winters of any permanently settled region in the world, with Yakutsk, the capital of the Sakha Republic, being the world's coldest major city and Oymyakon, also in the Sakha Republic, being the world's coldest permanently inhabited settlement.

Dynamics

Due to the moderating influence of the Atlantic or Pacific, most areas of the country in European Russia, in the south of West Siberia and in the south of the Russian Far East, including the cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, experience a humid continental climate.. Most of Northern European Russia and Siberia between the Scandinavian Peninsula and the Pacific Ocean has a subarctic climate, with extremely severe winters in the inner regions of Northeast Siberia, and more moderate elsewhere.
The strip of land along the shore of the Arctic Ocean, as well as the Arctic islands, have a polar climate, namely, an ice cap climate on some of the islands, and a tundra climate elsewhere. A small portion of the Black Sea coast, most notably in Sochi, possesses a humid subtropical climate with unusually wet winters. Winter is dry compared to summer in many regions of East Siberia and the Far East, while other parts of the country experience more even precipitation across seasons. Winter precipitation in most parts of the country usually falls as snow. The region along the Lower Volga and Caspian Sea coast, as well as some areas of southernmost Siberia, possess a semi-arid climate and an arid climate.
The city of Kaliningrad has an Oceanic climate due to its relatively mild winters and cool summers.
About 65% of the Russian territory is underlain by permafrost.

Temperature records

Extreme highs

MonthTemperatureDateLocation
January4 January 1979Derbent, Dagestan Republic
February28 February 2020Kasumkent, Dagestan Republic
March29 March 1901Maykop, Adygea Republic
April12 April 1998Armavir, Krasnodar Krai
May22 May 2021Khasavyurt, Republic of Dagestan
June22 June 2015Alexandrov Gay, Saratov Oblast
July12 July 2010Utta, Kalmykia Republic
August7 August 1940Lake Elton, Volgograd Oblast
September2 September 2010Lake Elton, Volgograd Oblast
September2 September 2010Kalininsk, Saratov Oblast
October2 October 1999Armavir, Krasnodar Krai
October2 October 1999Novoalexandrovsk, Saratov Oblast
November10 November 2016Shatoy, Chechen Republic
December10 December 1998Buynaksk, Dagestan Republic

Extreme lows

MonthTemperatureDateLocation
January15 January 1885Verkhoyansk, Sakha Republic
February5,7 February 1892Verkhoyansk, Sakha Republic
February6 February 1933Oymyakon, Sakha Republic
March10 March 1954Oymyakon, Sakha Republic
April2 April 1896Verkhoyansk, Sakha Republic
May2 May 1964Ilirney, Chukotka AO
June2 June 1964Strait of Sterlegova, Krasnoyarsk Krai
July15 July 1966Oymyakon, Sakha Republic
August31 August 1969Oymyakon, Sakha Republic
September29 September 1965Ilirney, Chukotka AO
October29 October 1915Verkhoyansk, Sakha Republic
NovemberSometime before 1940, otherwise, –59.7 °C on 29 November 1960Oymyakon, Sakha Republic
December22 December 1902Verkhoyansk, Sakha Republic

Averages and records by city