| Weather for
tomorrow |
|
 |
 |
 |
| Average temperature for
month |
in
Moscow |
in
St.Petersburg |
in
Yekaterinburg |
January
|
-6 |
-5 |
-16 |
| February |
-6 |
-7 |
-13 |
| March |
-1 |
-2 |
-7 |
| April |
7 |
5 |
3 |
| May |
11 |
9 |
10 |
| June |
17 |
16 |
16 |
| July |
19 |
17 |
18 |
| August |
16 |
16 |
15 |
| September |
11 |
10 |
9 |
| October |
5 |
5 |
1 |
| November |
-2 |
1 |
-8 |
| December |
-6 |
-2 |
-14 |
Russia has a largely continental climate because of its sheer
size and compact configuration. Most of its land is more than 400
kilometers from the sea, and the centre is 3,840 kilometers from
the sea. In addition, Russia's mountain ranges, predominantly
to the south and the east, block moderating temperatures from the
Indian and Pacific oceans, but European Russia and northern Siberia
lack such topographic protection from the Arctic and North Atlantic
oceans.
Because only small parts of Russia are south of 50° north
latitude and more than half of the country is north of 60° north
latitude, extensive regions experience six months of snow cover
over subsoil that is permanently frozen to depths as far as several
hundred meters. The average yearly temperature of nearly all of
European Russia is below freezing, and the average for most of
Siberia is freezing or below. Most of Russia has only two seasons,
summer and winter, with very short intervals of moderation between
them. Transportation routes, including entire railroad lines, are
redirected in winter to traverse rock-solid waterways and lakes.
Some areas constitute important exceptions to this description,
however: the moderate maritime climate of Kaliningrad Oblast on the
Baltic Sea is similar to that of the American Northwest; the
Russian Far East, under the influence of the Pacific Ocean, has a
monsoonal climate that reverses the direction of wind in summer and
winter, sharply differentiating temperatures; and a narrow,
subtropical band of territory provides Russia's most popular
summer resort area on the Black Sea.
In winter an intense high-pressure system causes winds to blow
from the south and the southwest in all but the Pacific region of
the Russian landmass; in summer a low-pressure system brings winds
from the north and the northwest to most of the landmass. That
meteorological combination reduces the wintertime temperature
difference between north and south. Thus, average January
temperatures are -8°C in St. Petersburg, -27°C in the West Siberian
Plain, and -43°C at Yakutsk (in east-central Siberia, at
approximately the same latitude as St. Petersburg), while the
winter average on the Mongolian border, with a latitude some 10°
farther south, is barely warmer. Summer temperatures are more
affected by latitude, however; the Arctic islands average 4°C, and
the southernmost regions average 20°C. Russia's potential for
temperature extremes is typified by the national record low of
-94°C, recorded at Verkhoyansk in north-central Siberia and the
record high of 38°C, recorded at several southern stations.
The long, cold winter has a profound impact on almost every
aspect of life in the Russian Federation. It affects where and how
long people live and work, what kinds of crops are grown, and where
they are grown (no part of the country has a year-round growing
season). The length and severity of the winter, together with the
sharp fluctuations in the mean summer and winter temperatures,
impose special requirements on many branches of the economy. In
regions of permafrost, buildings must be constructed on pilings,
machinery must be made of specially tempered steel, and
transportation systems must be engineered to perform reliably in
extremely low and extremely high temperatures. In addition, during
extended periods of darkness and cold, there are increased demands
for energy, health care, and textiles.
Because Russia has little exposure to ocean influences, most of
the country receives low to moderate amounts of precipitation.
Highest precipitation falls in the northwest, with amounts
decreasing from northwest to southeast across European Russia. The
wettest areas are the small, lush subtropical region adjacent to
the Caucasus and along the Pacific coast. Along the Baltic coast,
average annual precipitation is 600 millimeters, and in Moscow it
is 525 millimeters. An average of only twenty millimeters falls
along the Russian-Kazak border, and as little as fifteen
millimeters may fall along Siberia's Arctic coastline. Average
annual days of snow cover, a critical factor for agriculture,
depends on both latitude and altitude. Cover varies from forty to
200 days in European Russia, and from 120 to 250 days in
Siberia.
