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The icebox of the Northern Hemisphere, Russia’s Siberia is notorious for its freezing weather. But the cold so far this December – in some areas the worst in decades – is extreme even by its own standards.
Temperatures of minus 58 degrees (minus 50 degrees Celsius) and even lower have spread across northeastern Siberia in recent days and will continue for several more days. So far the temperature has fallen to minus 73.7 degrees (minus 58.7 degrees Celsius).
Most parts of Russia are expected to experience temperatures well below average next week. The coldest conditions compared to normal will tend to drift to the central and western parts of the country, with daytime temperatures around 20 to 40 degrees below average.
The agonizing cold in Siberia is a stark departure from the unusually warm weather that prevails across much of the rest of the planet. The European Union’s Copernicus climate service said on Wednesday that last month was by far the warmest November on record, marking the sixth consecutive month of record highs. This year will be virtually the warmest year on record for the planet.
Climate scientists still expect extreme cold bouts in a warming world, but they are predicted to become less frequent and more intense over time, covering smaller areas.
The extreme cold in Siberia replaced unusually warm weather that had previously blanketed much of Asia. It first arrived in eastern Siberia, in the Sakha Republic, and launched this month.
Ozero Iema, in the heart of this region and about 3,000 miles east of Moscow, reached minus 72.4 degrees (minus 58 degrees Celsius) on December 4 and minus 73.7 degrees (minus 58.7 degrees Celsius) on December 4. Dec 5th. Both were calendar day records, with the latter being the lowest December temperature in 40 years. accordingly Weather historian Thierry Goose.
Low temperatures in the remote area have been near or below minus 58 degrees since the start of December. On December 4th and 5th, the maximum temperatures were minus 68.1 degrees (minus 55.6 degrees Celsius) and minus 60.5 degrees (minus 51.4 degrees Celsius), respectively.
Ozero Iema has lots of company. In recent mornings, temperatures have fallen to minus 58 degrees or lower in about 1,200 miles of Siberia north and northwest of the Sea of Okhotsk, which lies east of Russia and north of Japan.
Other particularly cold places included Agayakan in the Sakha Republic, where it fell to minus 70.6 degrees (minus -57 Celsius) on Wednesday morning, and Susuman, about 200 miles southeast, where it fell to minus 66.8 degrees (minus -54 .9 degrees Celsius).
“It’s cold,” Pyotr, a resident of Yakutsk, the capital of Sakha, told Portal. “You just need the right quality clothing and then everything will be fine. The main thing is to keep moving to keep the blood circulating.”
The coldest air on the planet compared to normal will continue to have a firm grip on Russia.
Currently, the cold extends from Scandinavia across most of Russia, stretching about 5,500 miles from west to east. Later this week, the worst of the cold will drift south and east, spreading to Kazakhstan and Mongolia, while remaining centered on Russia.
There won’t be anything to take away the cold until at least the beginning or middle of next week. In some places it will be even colder beforehand.
Temperatures will be about 35 degrees below average in several areas through Thursday. By Friday, a large zone near and east of the Ural Mountains will experience anomalies of 40 degrees below normal. This equates to highs of minus 5 to minus 25 degrees in the mildest areas and lows still often between minus 58 and minus 76 degrees in the coldest spots.
The cold in Russia is linked to the strongly negative phase of the climate pattern known as the Arctic Oscillation. When it is negative, the coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere is typically pushed south of the polar region.
While Siberia is in a state of deep freeze, temperatures are well above average in large parts of the Arctic region in the north.
In about a week, the Arctic Oscillation is expected to return to its neutral phase, which should ease the cold over Siberia somewhat.
Some research has shown that unusually cold and snowy weather in Siberia may ultimately lead to significant cold in North America. However, there is currently little evidence of this happening.
Jason Samenow contributed to this report.