Climate Russian Federation

Due to the vast extent of the Russian Federation, the climatic conditions in the country are very different. On the islands in the northern Arctic Sea you will find an arctic climate with long, very cold and dark winters. Summers, on the other hand, are only short. Only in July and August temperatures above 0 degrees are reached. Following the arctic climate one finds cold temperate, subarctic climate south of it. It extends in a wide strip from the Baltic Sea to Lake Baikal. This is where most of the precipitation falls in the summer months. There is a continental climate between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. The differences between summer and winter temperatures are very large. In the capital Moscow, for example, only average temperatures of minus 10 degrees are reached in winter, but almost 20 degrees in summer. Directly at the Black Sea there is a mild, Mediterranean climate. The summers there are mostly dry and hot, the winters remain quite mild compared to the rest of the country. The annual precipitation in Russia is comparatively low. In the plains west of the Urals they are around 750 mm per year. In the mountains in the southeast they are somewhat higher, in the Caspian Sea somewhat lower.

The summer months are ideal for sightseeing from Moscow or Saint Petersburg, for example. At the Black Sea it is even possible to go on a beach holiday. For journeys to Siberia and to the east of the country only the summer months are suitable due to the hard winters likewise. In winter, ski resorts in the Caucasus and the Black Sea coast attract winter sports enthusiasts.