The climate
of Russia is formed under the influence of several determining factors. 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 extreme southeast. Mountains in
the south obstructing the flow of warm air masses from the Indian Ocean and the
plain of the west and north makes the country open to Arctic and Atlantic
influences.
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. (Köppen's Dfb, Dfa, Dwb, Dwa types). Most of
Northern European Russia and Siberia between the Scandinavian Peninsula and the
Pacific Ocean has a subarctic climate, with extremely severe winters (Dfd, Dwd)
in the inner regions of Northeast Siberia (mostly the Sakha Republic, where the
Northern Pole of Cold is located with the record low temperature of −68 °C or
−90.4 °F), and more moderate (Dwc, Dfc) elsewhere.
The strip of
land along the shore of the Arctic Ocean, as well as the Arctic islands, has a
polar climate (extreme polar climate (EF) on some of the islands and tundra
climate (ET) elsewhere). A small portion of the Black Sea coast, most notably
in Sochi, possesses a humid subtropical climate (Köppen's Cfa) with unusually
wet winters. Winter is dry compared to summer in many regions of East Siberia
and the Far East (Dwa, Dwb, Dwc, Dwd types), 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 regions along the Lower Volga
and Caspian Sea coast, as well as some areas of southernmost Siberia, possess a
semi-arid climate (BSk).