Climate

The key weather and climate features of April 2015 in the Northern Hemisphere

Air temperature

The abnormal heat was recorded during the whole month in such parts of Russia as Siberia, the Urals and the Arctic Region. Throughout the month, mean decadal air temperatures exceeded the norm by 4-10 ºC. The new daily temperature maxima were registered in the North Urals, in Novaya Zemlya, in the Irkutsk Region and in the Trans-Baikal Region. The climate spring came to the Russian North three weeks earlier than usual. Yenisei broke-up in the upper reaches of the river two weeks earlier than the average.

To the west and the east of the region, in the European part of Russia and in the Far East, as it usually happens in the spring heat and cold replaced each other in the frequent manner. Thus, to the west of the Urals, the heat of the first decade of the month with the daily temperature maxima was replaced by the abnormal cold in the second decade. During that time, there were recorded the night frosts for -3…-5ºC. They were recorded not only in the Central Russia, but also in the south, where the spring fieldwork had already begun. At the end of the month, the abnormal heat returned to the Central Russia. New daily air temperature maxima were recorded in Vologda, Kostroma, Tver, Nizhy Novgorod and other places. Such a confrontation of heat and cold has led to the fact that the mean month air temperature was about normal. Only in the Crimean Federal District, Southern Federal District and in the south of the Volga Federal District the month was colder than usual, while in the north of the country (Murmansk Region, Arkhangelsk Region, Komi Republic, and Nenets Autonomous Region) it was warmer.