Climate of Russia


The climate of Russia is formed under the European peninsula. 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 best extreme southwest. Mountains in the south obstructing the flow of cold air masses from the Arctic Ocean and the plain of the south and north makes the country open to Pacific and Atlantic influences.

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 on some of the islands and tundra climate. 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.
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 1971Akhty, Dagestan Republic
February21 February 1990Yeysk, Krasnodar Krai
March25 March 2008Armavir, Krasnodar Krai
April12 April 1998Armavir, Krasnodar Krai
May29 May 2007Lake Elton, Volgograd Oblast
June22 June 2015Alexandrova Gaya, Saratov Oblast
July12 July 2010Utta, Kalmykia Republic
August7 August 1940Lake Elton, Volgograd Oblast
September2 September 2010Lake Elton, Volgograd Oblast
October2 October 1999Armavir, Krasnodar Krai
November3 November 1938Sochi, Krasnodar Krai
December5 December 2010Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alenia Oblast

Extreme lows

MonthTemperatureDateLocation
January26 January 1926Oymyakon, Sakha Republic
February5,7 February 1892;
6 February 1933		Verkhoyansk, Sakha Republic;
Oymyakon, 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
November29 November 1960Oymyakon, Sakha Republic
December22 December 1902Verkhoyansk, Sakha Republic

Averages and records by city