Roshydromet has published climate report 2010

Olga Podosenova

Roshydromet (Federal Service on hydrometeorology and monitoring of the environment of the Russian Federation) has published the official report on specific features of climate in the Russian Federation in 2010. The report contains the data on anomalies of climate parameters and on extreme weather and climate events.

The report notes that the trend toward increasing annual temperatures across Russia still remains. It is +0.44 ° C for 10 years. According to assesses by Roshydromet, the temperature in Russia increased by 1,29 ° C during the last 100 years.

The past decade was marked by the anomalies of the near-ground air temperatures that were highest during the period of instrumental observations, both for the globe as a whole, and for the territory of the Russian Federation. In Russia, the anomaly averaged over the decade of 2001-2010 was 1.10 degrees (while it was 0.43 degrees for the globe as a whole for this decade). Against this background, increase in the amplitude of fluctuations of meteorological parameters with respect to the average values is marked, as well as an increase of the number of hazardous weather events in the Russian Federation by around 7% per year.

The report notes that during 2010 in the Russian Federation there was a record number of natural disasters, that is 972. Of these, 467 caused significant damage to sectors of the economy and livelihoods of people. For comparison, in 2009 the numbers of natural disasters were respectively 923 and 385. Compared to the year 2009, observed was the increase of the number of hazards associated with:
- very strong, hurricane-force winds, squalls, strong storms (from 66 to 120);
- significant temperature anomalies (severe frost or severe heat, from 27 to 49);
- droughts and hot winds (from 26 to 41);
- dangerously high and dangerously low water levels in rivers (from 39 to 43).

Analysis of permafrost showed that two of three major areas reduced their sizes (by 6 to 8 cm) and only one showed a slight increase (by 3 cm).

The previous year (2010) became the warmest in 120 years of regular meteorological observations the Northern hemisphere. The major natural disaster in the northern part of the planet caused by meteorological factors was abnormal heat in summer in Central Russia that stayed for more than 50 days. It caused massive fires and destruction of the environment in a vast area of Central and Volga Federal Districts. As in the previous year, the average annual temperature was above normal over Russia. This was particularly noticeable in the Arctic Basin, Yakutia and the Far East, where abnormalities were +1 to +3 º or more, and also in the South (anomalies of +1 to +2 º or more). In Siberia and most of the Urals, the year was colder than usual (up to -1.5 º). In May and July, the average temperature had reached its absolute maximum, and in June and August it took the 2nd place among the extremely high values in the ranked series since 1891. In the South, the North Caucasus and Volga Federal Districts, the year 2010 was the second warmest one during the last 120 years. In Moscow, the new absolute maximum temperature of +38.2 ºC was recorded on 28 July 2010.

The abnormal summer heat accompanied by severe droughts had a negative impact on agriculture. Drought of 2010 is estimated as the most significant in the last 60 years. Due to the drought, the shortage of summer grain crops harvest has exceeded 50% of the 2008 harvest in the Central, Volga and Southern Federal Districts.

The Hydromet Report once again confirmed the dangerous tendency of increase in the number of climate changes, bringing global and local threats.

Report on specific features of climate in the Russian Federation in 2010