How residents of different regions of Russia endure frosts

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Is it possible to enjoy life when it is minus 50 outside the window? And how, some believe, if before that it was minus 60! Russia is traditionally associated with snow and cold weather, and Russians themselves are considered so frost-resistant that they eat ice cream on the street even in the harsh winter. Is it true that all Russians are not afraid of frost?

We decided to ask residents of different regions of the country what cold is for them.

Siberian frosts are the most severe

The coldest cities in Russia - Oymyakon, Verkhoyansk, Vorkuta, Norilsk and others - are located in Siberia and the Far East. Freezing temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius are common here, and climatic winter begins in October and lasts until May, and in summer the snow does not always have time to melt. In addition, different areas have their own weather characteristics.

For example, the winters of Norilsk are very difficult to endure not so much because of the low temperatures, but also because of the crazy winds that literally knock you off your feet.

“We have a relatively dry climate, so the cold, I believe, comes at a temperature of minus 30-35 (if there is no wind), and at minus 45 and below it is already frost, and it is accompanied by fog,” says Yana Leusheva, a photographer from Norilsk … - Cooling by the wind gives about minus 60. It happens that minus 25, but the north wind, and you freeze through. We insulate ourselves with thermal underwear and warm overalls and, if possible, sit at home."

Yana says that at temperatures below minus 45, schoolchildren from grades 1 to 8 are allowed not to attend classes, but this does not apply to high school students.

“When our temperature rises to minus 50, people say it's warmer, and the cold comes at temperatures below minus 60,” says Ilgen Argystakhov, a blogger from Oymyakon in Yakutia, the coldest place on earth where people live. It was here in 1933 that the cold record was recorded - minus 67, 7. “Our winters are cold, but it happens that in some year there are more warm days, sometimes it even warms up to minus 40.

But it is consistently below minus 60 every year, says Ilgen. - At minus 56, if I'm not mistaken, schoolchildren are allowed not to go to classes. But adults work in any weather. We just try to dress properly so as not to freeze."

But in the south of Siberia it is much warmer - relative to the north, of course. “Usually we have from minus 20 to minus 40 in winter, about minus 20 in the daytime in recent years. There is a lot of snow, mostly cloudy, dry and there is wind. I get cold at temperatures below minus 30, - says Marina Krylova from the city of Kemerovo. - At minus 30, almost everyone goes to school, and everyone always goes to work as usual. Warmer sweater - and go."

The Black Sea is cold and without snow

In fact, the climate in Russia is very diverse: residents of southern cities do not often see snow, and such weather phenomena instantly hit the news reports. This January, for example, snow fell in Sochi for the first time in five years, and social media immediately filled with icy palms and snowmen on the beach. But the locals have another problem - the cold wind from the sea, from which it is difficult to escape.

“I'm uncomfortable at minus 3-5, and it's cold at minus 6, especially when it's windy,” says Alexandra Matviychenko from Sochi. “But the weather here changes so quickly! Today minus 3, I am in a fur coat, and a week ago I went in for sports in a T-shirt, it was plus 14.

Alexandra says that in winter she wears an autumn jacket more often than a winter coat, because winters in Sochi are mild and very comfortable. “In general, I have now realized how much I love winter in Sochi. This year, this is the first week when there is minus and snow. And I don’t remember snow in Sochi for a long time!”

This year, the Crimea also felt real winter.“This year the winter is snowy, so that the snow lies for three days, this has not happened for a long time. Usually the snow will fall and melt in two hours and the temperature rarely drops below zero, says Rimma Zaitseva from Sevastopol and adds that the most unpleasant thing is the wind blowing through. - The other day it was minus 4 with the wind, but it felt like everything was minus 14.

The strongest winds usually blow in January and February, and the sea is also stormy. Rimma says that she lived in the Urals for a long time, and after him the Sevastopol frosts do not frighten her at all, although she noticed that fur coats and warm down-padded coats are worn in Crimea, and children are dressed very warmly.

The main thing is humidity

Many Russians say dry and sunny winters are much easier to endure than wet winters. “When minus and wind are terrible! Even minus 5 feels like minus 100,”says Valentina Pakhomova from St. Petersburg, famous for its endless rains. Winters here are often dank or with sleet, from which you can not hide.

“Even though I was born on Sakhalin, I don't like the cold, and I'm cold at temperatures below minus 10,” says Evgeny Kirienko from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The weather on the island is very different: in the south in winter it is usually minus 15, humid, but there are no strong winds, and in the north, only 300-400 km away, it can be up to minus 40.

“I was in Vladivostok for a week - there is minus 12 and the wind is strong, and although it was sunny, I was twice as cold as on Sakhalin,” recalls Evgeny. “And in Khabarovsk it was twice as cold as in Vladivostok because of the wind.”

In Moscow, it is usually at least minus 20 in winter, and in the center of the city it is even warmer than on the outskirts. But at the same time, there are very snowy and windy winters, when snowstorms sweep the roads, and the humid wind blows through. “It usually gets really cold at temperatures below minus 15,” says Daria Sokolova from Moscow. “But in any weather I’ll go outside for a walk.”

And in order not to freeze and enjoy the winter, some Russians practice hardening. “I used to have a bad perception of the cold below minus 20 degrees,” says Ilya Potapov, a member of the Pavloposad Walruses community from the Moscow Region. - Since 2012, I just swam in Epiphany, and since 2016 I began to fully temper.

After the first year of hardening, it was already easier to enter the water, and generally endure the cold,”he says and adds that he is now used to any temperature of water and air.

“I'm not cold at all. Now it's minus 12 on the street, and I'm in summer shoes. But in general, of course, I wear winter clothes, because my head and legs need to be kept warm,”says Ilya.