January 05, 2025

Global Warming Changing Russian Winters


Global Warming Changing Russian Winters
Red Square in winter, Moscow. Vyacheslav Argenberg, Wikimedia Commons.

Climate change is altering the nature of Russian winters, according to a recent analysis by the Yesli Byt Tochnym ("To Be Precise") project.

The study examined changes in snowfall over the last 15 years and concluded that winters across Russia have shifted, most notably in southern regions. Snow now arrives one to two weeks later, and the number of days with at least a centimeter of snow cover has dropped by 20 to 30 percent. In Siberia and the Far East, however, snowfall and snowdrift height are on the rise.

Experts say these variations stem from global climate change. Rising average annual temperatures mean winter cold sets in later, and summer and autumn seasons last longer. As a result, the first snowfalls in most Russian cities now come later than they did 15 years ago. Of 31 cities studied, 22 saw the first snow arrive later in 2020 than it did in 1981. In Stavropol, snow now falls 14 days later than it did on average from 1981 to 2010, and in Makhachkala, it arrives 13 days later.

Snow is not only coming later; it is also falling less frequently. The total number of days per year with more than one centimeter of snow cover dropped in all major cities except Tyumen, Omsk, and Krasnoyarsk. Once again, the change is most pronounced in the South: Krasnodar saw a 37 percent decrease in snowy days, Rostov-on-Don 28 percent, and Makhachkala 22 percent.

Lower snowfall levels can be attributed to declining precipitation in Southern Russia, where any snow that does fall often melts or subsides quickly. In other parts of the European portion of the country, winters with little snow are becoming more common. In St. Petersburg, for example, an average of 18 centimeters fell between 1981 and 2010, but from 2011 to 2023, there were six winters with only a third or half of that amount.

Conditions in Siberia tell a different story. Snowfall there has increased or stayed the same in recent years. Since 2011, Krasnoyarsk has seen more snow than its average 18 centimeters nearly every winter except one, while Irkutsk and Novosibirsk have maintained historic norms.

“Almost everywhere in Russia, except in the south of the European part, precipitation is rising,” said climatologist Daria Gushchina. “And since precipitation is increasing, the maximum height of the snow cover is also going up.”

She added that as average temperatures climb, the atmosphere holds more water vapor, which leads to increased precipitation — often in extreme events. At the same time, the average number of snowy days in Russia will continue to decrease, said Darya Gushchina.

You Might Also Like

White Nights Resurges
  • December 23, 2024

White Nights Resurges

One hundred and sixty-seven years on, a Dostoyevsky novella is seeing a resurgence in popularity. 
Cleaning up Kerch Strait Oil Spill
  • December 25, 2024

Cleaning up Kerch Strait Oil Spill

A massive oil spill in the Kerch Strait has polluted miles of shoreline in Russia’s Krasnodar Oblast, killing birds and dolphins.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955