Russia’s Arctic Temperatures Soar, Raising Climate Concerns

Russia experienced its second-warmest year on record in 2025, with temperatures 1.24 degrees Celsius above the ten-year norm, according to Rosgidromet, the country’s state weather agency. The Arctic region, warming at a rate several times faster than the global average, saw particularly dramatic increases, with last winter and fall being the warmest since 1951, and spring the third-warmest during the same period.

Record Temperatures Across Russia

The report from Rosgidromet indicates that 2025 was the second-highest on record for Russia, following 2020, which had a temperature anomaly of +2.03 C. Several federal districts within Russia set temperature records throughout the year, including the Central and Volga Federal Districts. With the exception of the Far Eastern Federal District, average temperatures across all other Russian federal districts ranked among the five highest since 1936.

Arctic Warming and Precipitation

The Arctic region is experiencing disproportionately high warming rates. Last year, Russia also saw a record-breaking 110% more precipitation than average, according to environmental news website Kedr, which first reported on the Rosgidromet climate report.

Long-Term Warming Trends

Over the past decade, temperatures in Russia have risen by 0.51 C, compared to a global average increase of 0.2 C. The global average surface temperature in 2025 reached 14.97 C, marking it as the third-warmest year on record.

Modernization of Meteorological Stations

Russia is actively modernizing its meteorological stations along the Northern Sea Route to improve monitoring and data collection in the Arctic. This initiative aims to enhance understanding of the rapidly changing climate in the region. The Barents Observer reports on this ongoing effort.

Ongoing Arctic Research

The Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) maintains a network of polar weather stations as the primary source of meteorological information in the region. Arctic Observing highlights the importance of this network.

The TRANSARCTIC Expedition

The marine expedition TRANSARCTIC, initiated in 2019, contributes to the ongoing study of the Arctic climate. The first stage of the expedition, TRANSARCTICA – 2019, preceded the work of the international floating Observatory deployed as part of the MOSAiC project (The Multi-Disciplinary drifting Observatory for the study of Arctic Climate programme). The World Meteorological Organization provides details on this expedition.

Climate Change and Russia

Climate scientists have consistently warned that Russia, as a major emitter of greenhouse gases and a significant exporter of fossil fuels, is increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events, including heat waves and heavy rainfall.