When to go en Russie - Sibérie ?

Climate en Russie - Sibérie

Siberia, a playground of some 13 million km², offers a beautiful variety of environments and weather nuances. Not to mention climate change, which for more than a decade has been changing the game. Winter travel has lost none of its enchantment! Amongst other enchanting visions, imagine sparkling polar blue skies or the frozen waves of Lake Baikal. The summer trip offers a completely different atmosphere, between a hot spring summer, during which the crowds carried by the train are, like you, eager to go swimming. In autumn, the major tourist sites are quieter, with the risk of finding the door closed. Preparing for your trip will lead you to make some tough choices. Season? Transversal exploration or regional resort? Tundra vs. steppe? Extreme or temperate climates? Here is some information to be completed by research on the Internet.

Continental

Basically, from west to east, on the Trans-Siberian Railway (direction Vladivostok), you can expect a continental climate as soon as you cross the Urals (Ekaterinburg, Perm). That is to say, summers of varying length, warm and rainy, as opposed to cool winters with varying amounts of snow and more or less extended periods of frost. When Novosibirsk is engulfed in snow, Irkutsk, as well as a large part of Buryatia, does not capitalize more than a meter (year-round). Then remember that this continental character becomes stronger eastwards to the Far East, which is much milder. July is the hottest month (20 to 25 °C on average), sometimes scorching (up to +35 °C in the taiga, especially north of Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk); January, traditionally considered the coldest, is necessarily below zero, down to around -25 °C. Autumn is a very hot time: in September, after a pleasant sunny day, it is not uncommon to experience a snowfall. As for the spring... which is mild, the snow and ice melt: consider it wet and muddy, but not very rainy. Keep in mind that the weather can change quickly, so always be prepared for a roller coaster ride: whatever season you prefer, make sure you bring warm, waterproof clothing. Summer travellers: beware of mosquitoes, especially around Lake Baikal.

Fleece

The rule is a global one, and Siberia is no exception: the further north you go, the more bitingly cold it gets. And this is true in each of the four regions, the Urals, Western Siberia, Eastern Siberia or the Far East, because they all include a subarctic and polar zone. The tundra, where winter is (almost) eternal, an environment we imagine inhospitable and deserted? Beware of preconceived ideas! If summers are short, temperatures can rise to more than 20°C. On the other hand, many cities have been built on this famous permanent ice layer, the permafrost; these are quite accessible (the easiest, by plane), except for Norilsk, in the Krasnoyarsk krai (pass required). It is well worth the detour to observe the astonishing living conditions of these city dwellers of the cold: buildings built exclusively on stilts, exteriors that are sometimes very colourful, frozen cars that you only start up again in the spring, the lush and charming interiors, winter gardens that you take care of like the apple of your eye. Dudinka (1,800 km north of Krasnoyarsk; also accessible by boat up the Yenisei River) is the largest port in Siberia. Every year in March, the city organizes the Reindeer Herders' Day, a unique opportunity to admire Nenets, Evenks, Dolganes and other indigenous peoples dressed in their traditional clothing. The northern Arctic regions are the harshest: Yakutia/Sakha Republic, with 40 per cent of its territory beyond the Arctic Circle, is considered the coldest in the world. Every year, the cities of Verkoyansk and Uymiakon compete for the coldest record, officially attributed to the latter, with the historic temperature of -67.8°C reached in 1933 (record 2018, -58°C). Not forgetting the famous Yakutsk, with its incredible temperature range between summer and winter (on average -46.2 °C in January, +18.9 °C in July). A completely different record would have been recorded there: a 22-minute love kiss in a temperature of -30°C (try it, records are made to be broken). Finally, exploring these extreme regions is also an opportunity to experience the astronomical and meteorological phenomena typical of the Far North. Among these, the Northern Lights: go to Dikson to observe the most amazing, white, in summer, during the Polar Day (in the Kara Sea). The polar day, therefore, which starts around the solstice, the period during which the sun does not set. This is the case in Igarka for 52 days! Conversely, in winter, you are confronted with polar nights, strange eternal nights. Finally, the "black storms", those spectacular snow blizzards that engulf a city in a few hours, for example in Norilsk.

Temperate

Other destination options are available for those who prefer warmer weather. The large holiday resorts in the Urals, Perm, Ekaterinburg, located in forested regions, enjoy a "moderate" continental climate, with a warm spring summer (July-August, 20-25 °C) and a snowy winter, which can drop to around -20 °C (January; slightly milder in Ekaterinburg). The region is also famous for its ski resorts, with generous snowfall from November to April and magnificent scenery. In Western Siberia, think of the Altai, a majestic mountainous region with alpine panoramas. It is also known as the Russian Switzerland (or Tibet). Here, the climate is temperate (beware, in the plains, the climate gets harder): count around 20 °C in July and -10 °C in January. The village of Tchemal, which enjoys a microclimate, is very touristy in summer. It is the starting point for many hikes, speleological expeditions and rafting descents (about 500 km south of Novosibirsk). Much further east, in the Far East, you can visit the Amur region, which has a few spots where it is good to live. For example the Mouhkinka resort, nestled in the Mouhkinski mountain range. The climate of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (Primoré), an agricultural area and an astonishing holiday resort of the Russian Jewish diaspora, is also very favorable. It is indeed this region that stands out the most in Siberia, the Far East of Southern Russia, where one breathes an otherwise exotic air, coming from the Pacific, from the Khabarovsk (km 8,523 of the Trans-Siberian Railway). The climate, although continental, is influenced by the monsoons of the Okhotsk and Japanese Seas: summer is cool but sunny, while winters are very snowy. On the sea coast, a radical change of planet. Winters are short and dry, while in summer a tropical shower can suddenly intersperse with a drought. Beware of the hurricane season (June-July).