Climate Zone Map

Russia climate zones

The most common zone is Dfc, subarctic (boreal), covering 49% of the land in 1991 to 2020.

World map of Köppen-Geiger climate zones, 1991 to 2020Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

Period shown on the map
80%

Köppen-Geiger classes are based on 30-year averages of temperature and rain, not on the weather on any one day.

Key

A: Tropical

  • Af Tropical rainforest
  • Am Tropical monsoon
  • Aw Tropical savannah

B: Arid

  • BWh Hot desert
  • BWk Cold desert
  • BSh Hot semi-arid (steppe)
  • BSk Cold semi-arid (steppe)

C: Temperate

  • Csa Hot-summer Mediterranean
  • Csb Warm-summer Mediterranean
  • Csc Cold-summer Mediterranean
  • Cwa Humid subtropical with dry winter
  • Cwb Subtropical highland (dry winter)
  • Cwc Cold subtropical highland (dry winter)
  • Cfa Humid subtropical
  • Cfb Temperate oceanic
  • Cfc Subpolar oceanic

D: Cold (continental)

  • Dsa Hot-summer continental with dry summer
  • Dsb Warm-summer continental with dry summer
  • Dsc Subarctic with dry summer
  • Dsd Subarctic with dry summer and very cold winter
  • Dwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter
  • Dwb Warm-summer continental with dry winter
  • Dwc Subarctic with dry winter
  • Dwd Subarctic with dry winter and very cold winter
  • Dfa Hot-summer humid continental
  • Dfb Warm-summer humid continental
  • Dfc Subarctic (boreal)
  • Dfd Subarctic with very cold winter

E: Polar

  • ET Tundra
  • EF Ice cap (frost)

How to read the map. Each colour is a Köppen-Geiger climate class. The first letter is the major group (A tropical, B arid, C temperate, D cold, E polar); the other letters say how dry it is and how warm or cold. Tap anywhere to see the class under that spot in 1901 to 1930, 1991 to 2020 and, under three emissions scenarios, 2071 to 2099. The codes and names are always given in words, because colour alone is hard to tell apart for some people.

Climate zones in Russia, 1991 to 2020

Share of Russia's classified land in each Köppen-Geiger zone in 1991 to 2020. Zones under 0.05% are left out. The 41,984,830 map cells used cover 100% of the country's outline (about 16,833,833 km²).

Dfc Subarctic (boreal)49%
Dfb Warm-summer humid continental19%
Dwc Subarctic with dry winter11%
ET Tundra6.8%
Dsc Subarctic with dry summer3.9%
Dwb Warm-summer continental with dry winter3.7%
Dfa Hot-summer humid continental2.7%
Dwd Subarctic with dry winter and very cold winter1.5%
BSk Cold semi-arid (steppe)1.1%
Dfd Subarctic with very cold winter0.7%
Cfa Humid subtropical0.3%
EF Ice cap (frost)0.2%
Dsd Subarctic with dry summer and very cold winter0.1%
Dwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter0.1%

By major group: D (cold (continental)) 92%, E (polar) 7%, B (arid) 1.2%, C (temperate) 0.4%.

Russia has no single dominant climate. The biggest zone, Dfc (subarctic (boreal)), covers only 49% of its classified land in 1991 to 2020, followed by Dfb (19%) and Dwc (11%). 9 zones each cover 1% or more of it. In plain terms, subarctic (boreal) means long, cold winters and short, cool summers. Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), 39% of its land is projected to be in a different zone by 2071 to 2099, with the biggest gain going to Dfa (hot-summer humid continental).

How Russia's zones have changed and may change

Each row compares a map with 1991 to 2020. "Share in a different zone" is the share of the country's area whose class is different from 1991 to 2020. Future rows are model projections under an emissions scenario, not forecasts.

MapShare in a different zoneDifferent major groupBiggest gainBiggest loss
1901 to 1930 (past)24%4.1%Dfb +5.6 percentage pointsDfd -5.5 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions)23%3.6%Dfb +5.5 percentage pointsDfc -3.7 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road)39%5.6%Dfa +7.1 percentage pointsDfc -8.3 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions)74%9.2%Dfa +38 percentage pointsDfc -26.5 percentage points

For the past row, the comparison runs the other way: the 1901 to 1930 map against 1991 to 2020.

Zone shares by map

Zone1901 to 19301991 to 2020SSP1-2.6 (2071 to 2099)SSP2-4.5 (2071 to 2099)SSP5-8.5 (2071 to 2099)
Dfc Subarctic (boreal)47%49%45%40%22%
Dfb Warm-summer humid continental14%19%25%26%13%
Dwc Subarctic with dry winter12%11%9%7.5%4.2%
ET Tundra10%6.8%4%2.8%1.4%
Dsc Subarctic with dry summer1.6%3.9%4%4.7%5.8%
Dwb Warm-summer continental with dry winter2.5%3.7%3.7%3.5%2%
Dfa Hot-summer humid continental2.2%2.7%5.2%9.7%41%
Dwd Subarctic with dry winter and very cold winter2.3%1.5%0.6%--
BSk Cold semi-arid (steppe)1.1%1.1%1.3%1.7%2.8%
Dfd Subarctic with very cold winter6.2%0.7%0.4%--
Cfa Humid subtropical0.1%0.3%0.7%1%1.9%
EF Ice cap (frost)0.2%0.2%0.1%--
Dsd Subarctic with dry summer and very cold winter0.4%0.1%---
Dwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter-0.1%1.5%2.3%5.4%
Dsb Warm-summer continental with dry summer--0.2%0.3%0.4%
Cfb Temperate oceanic---0.1%-
BWk Cold desert----0.2%
Dsa Hot-summer continental with dry summer----0.4%

Percentages are of the country's classified land in each map. A dash means under 0.05%.

Cities in Russia and their climate zones

City1991 to 20202071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5
MoscowDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfb Warm-summer humid continental
Saint PetersburgDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfb Warm-summer humid continental
NovosibirskDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
YekaterinburgDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfb Warm-summer humid continental
Nizhniy NovgorodDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfb Warm-summer humid continental
KazanDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
ChelyabinskDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
OmskDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
SamaraDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
Rostov-on-DonDfa Hot-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
UfaDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
KrasnoyarskDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
VoronezhDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
VolgogradDfa Hot-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
PermDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfb Warm-summer humid continental
KrasnodarCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
SaratovDfa Hot-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
TyumenDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfb Warm-summer humid continental
TolyattiDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
IzhevskDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
BarnaulDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
UlyanovskDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
IrkutskDwb Warm-summer continental with dry winterDwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter
KhabarovskDwb Warm-summer continental with dry winterDwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter
YaroslavlDfb Warm-summer humid continentalDfb Warm-summer humid continental
VladivostokDwb Warm-summer continental with dry winterDwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter
MakhachkalaBSk Cold semi-arid (steppe)BSk Cold semi-arid (steppe)

Zones found in Russia

All countries · All climate zones

Data: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0; country outlines from Natural Earth. In 1901 to 1930 the most common zone was Dfc. See data sources and licences.

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