MAIN WEATHER AND CLIMATE TRAITS IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE AS OF FEBRUARY 2026

Air temperature

Cold weather that prevailed in the north of Russia late January became even colder with the beginning of February, covering the entire ETR now. Both there and in the northern Urals, new daily air temperature minima were recorded, the thermometer readings dropping below -40° in the Urals, or below -50° in the west of Yakutia. In the first decade, average air temperature anomalies reached -9° or lower on the Russian Plain. Further on, and until the end of the month, abnormally cold weather with new air temperature minima was observed along the Arctic coast. But in Central Russia, in the southern ETR and Urals, and in the south of Siberia, abnormally warm weather arrived in the second decade with daily air temperature maxima in southern Siberia, and with the decade-averaged temperature anomalies of +2-7° everywhere from the southern Urals to the Amur region or of +2-5° in the south of the ETR. However, everything changed abruptly in the third decade when the Arctic colds descended upon Russia. The decade-averaged air temperature became 8-15° lower than normal in the Urals and in Siberia. The temperatures remained normal in most of the ETR, and 2-6° above normal in the Far East. In Chukotka, Sakhalin, Primorye and the south of the Khabarovsk Territory, new temperature maxima were measured, the latter being new absolute maxima for February in a number of locations.

These variable temperature patterns during the month caused the cold and the warmth to compensate each other, so that the average February temperature in Russia was approximately normal. It was notably below normal in the north, in the central ETR and in the Urals, and above normal, in the Far East and in the North Caucasus. Similar can be said about the winter temperature averages: they were significantly lower than normal in the North-West, Central and Ural Federal Districts (with anomalies of -2…-6°), but higher in the Far-East Federal District (with anomalies of +2…4°). In the rest of the country, the temperature background in winter was roughly normal.

This February, the entire territory of Asia south of Russia received considerably more warmth than normal.

Air temperature

Relatively warm weather that prevailed in the ETR at the end of December 2025 retained there in the first decade of January 2026, except for the northern regions. New daily air temperature maxima were even recorded in the south. At the same time, the weather became notably colder than normal in the Leningrad, Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Regions as well as in the Republics of Komi and Karelia: there, air temperature anomalies in the first decade were -2…-12°. Abnormally cold air also reached the Arctic region of Russia all the way from the Kola Peninsula to Yakutia. The rest of the country was in warm climatic conditions during the first decade, with anomalies up to +4…6° or higher in the southern Urals and in Siberia, and up to +2…4° or higher in the north of the Far East. Meanwhile, the weather in the south of the Far East was slightly cooler than usual.

In the second decade, warmth manifested itself in the Russian North, raising anomalies to +2-3° or more degrees. In the north of the Far East, they also increased to +4-6° or higher, but the rest of Russia submerged into colds: e.g., daily temperature minima were observed in the south of Siberia (the Altai Territory, the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Kemerovo and Novosibirsk Regions, and the Republic of Buryatia). Frosts reached as low as -45° in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, -44° in the Altai Territory, and -48° in the Irkutsk Region. No such colds have been seen there in the last 75 years. Frosts below -25° were recorded in Moscow, and below -20°, in the Crimea. The decade-averaged air temperature in the Urals and in Siberia was 6-12° below the normal value.