Climate of the Far East of Russia

The climate of the Far East can not but surprise with its uniqueness not only the guests of our country, but also many of its inhabitants who, it would seem, could already get used to its inconstancy, temperature changes, whims and unpredictability.

In fact, you can talk about this phenomenon indefinitely, analyzing the regions separately and stopping at each of them in detail, in the smallest detail.

However, the purpose of this article is just to describe the climate of the Far East as a whole, thus making up a general picture of the natural phenomena occurring there. It is not a secret for anyone that weather conditions in most cases become a prerequisite for the formation of a particular flora and fauna, and therefore, in general, predetermine one or another economic activity of the whole region.

What determines the weather in the Far East?

Geographically, the Far East is the most remote part of Russia from the capital. It includes Yakutia, Sakhalin, Chukchi, Kamchatka, Amur and Primorye.

It is impossible to talk about the climate in the Far East without mentioning a number of its geological features. So, about 75% of the above territory is occupied by plateaus and low uplands (up to 2000 m). In addition, there are many geysers in Kamchatka, more than 150 volcanoes, of which about 30 are, by the way, fully operational.

Possessing such kind of information, hardly anyone will be surprised to learn that the Kuriles and Kamchatka belong to the dangerous seismic belt of the Russian Federation.

The Far East, whose climate has been the subject of close attention of many scientists for several decades, stretches for 4,500 thousand km along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Here runs the line of collision of the Eurasian and Pacific plate, which contributes to the formation of mountain systems, which, incidentally, continues to this day, creating at times a significant problem and trouble.

Very often weather conditions in this region are created under the influence of processes occurring at the junction of lithospheric plates, as well as the interaction of warm and cold air currents.

General characteristic of observed phenomena

As is known from the school lessons of geography, the Far Eastern north is located beyond the Arctic Circle, so the snow cover here does not disappear completely even in the summer.

The northern part of this territory is distinguished by a special severity, namely, permafrost and tundra. In turn, the southern part is represented by the riot of spruce groves and subtropical plants.

It should be noted that the climatic conditions throughout the territory are very different from each other, although one common feature is still there: everywhere there is high humidity. By the way, not everyone knows that the Pacific Ocean has a huge influence on the Far Eastern climate.

In general, there are three climatic zones: temperate, arctic and subarctic. In summer, a lot of precipitation falls, and in winter snow cover can reach 3 meters in thickness.

Climatic zoning

In general, the climate of the Far East belongs to one of five types:

• The weather in Chukotka is determined at once by two types of climate: the Arctic and the subarctic;
• The Kamchatka Territory and the coast of the Magadan Region are in a temperate climatic zone;
• Khabarovsk Krai - in a temperate zone with sharply continental and monsoon types of climate;
• The Jewish Autonomous Region and the Amur Region are part of the monsoon climate zone.

Far Eastern precipitation and air masses

In the cold season, the western winds bring the Siberian dry and at the same time very frosty air (the so-called anticyclones) to the territory of the Far East, and in warm weather the wind blows from the ocean, bringing cyclones, i.e. Very abundant downpours and overcast weather.

It should be noted that precipitation is uneven across the whole territory, even in the same region.

Features of the temperature regime

The Far East, whose climate is very diverse, has a number of characteristic features in terms of temperature conditions.

Why? The thing is that with the distance from the shores of the Pacific to the interior of the continent in the cold season, there is a significant increase in frost. But in the warm season the average monthly temperature of the whole territory is not much different, so the climate of the mixed forests of the Far East is very similar to the weather conditions that are formed on the coastal territory.

The exception, perhaps, is the north of Chukotka, where in July the average air temperature can sometimes reach up to -2 ° C.

Almost throughout the rest of the Far East, the average July temperature varies between + 10 ... + 15 ° C. In the southern part of the region - at a level of +17 ... + 21 ° C.

The climate of the Russian Far East and its influence on the local flora and fauna

The variety of vegetation of this region is a direct consequence of the presence of a complex relief system and closed basins, as well as the effect of air masses of different temperatures.

In general, the flora here is represented by various plant species, characteristic both for frozen Siberia, and for hot and sweltering Asia. How is this manifested? Judge for yourself, is it not surprising, when very close to the fir trees, pine trees and nuts grow vines, lemongrass and grapes?

One can not ignore the fact that the climate of the Far East has caused the presence of many species of animals, the most common among which are reindeer, squirrels and moose, which, incidentally, perfectly coexist with the Amur tigers, rare today black deer and raccoon dogs .

Economic activity of the region

Favorable climate The Far East of Russia served as a reason for the intensive development of agriculture and industry.

For example, in the center and in the south grow potatoes, rice, soybeans, wheat, beans and various vegetables. There is also developed horticulture. The north is mainly engaged in harvesting furs, and the coast is dominated by fishing.

In the Far East there are also various valuable minerals: iron and non-ferrous ore, graphite, copper, gold, natural gas, oil, etc.