Reason for low temperatures in eastern Russia
The map below illustrates the average temperatures of eurasia in january. The territory of Russia is outlined to show the area of interest. The very low temperatures in the east is the area of interest. It will also compare the average temperatures of territory in the low temperature zone in the east and that of similar latitudes in more western areas of Siberia. All of Russia is shown to help compare the average temperatures of the east.
The low temperatures of eastern Siberia are caused by the Siberian high pressure system. The Siberian high pressure system, also known as the Siberian high, is an accumulation of cold dry air that accumulates in north east asia that begins to build up at the end of August, peaks in winter, and usually weakens in April. The average winter temperature in Yakutsk is -34°F while the average winter temperature in St Petersburg is 22.5°F. Both cities are at similar latitudes, but Yakutsk sits within the Siberian high, which lowers the average temperature of the area.
Geographic thinking is necessary to understand how the Siberian high is formed. The beginning of the Siberian high at the end of the Siberian summer is caused by air flows over north east asia cooling as the days grow shorter. Wind generated over Siberia is generally cooler than wind generated over the arctic ocean. This is because the land does not radiate heat as sea ice does. During the Siberian high's early formation, it brings the upper jet stream over northern eurasia.
Physical Geography, where and why natural features and processes occur, is important to consider as the placement of this area is important to understanding the low temperatures of the region. Climate, long-term average conditions, is useful to consider as other areas at this latitude have low temperatures as well. Global pressure systems, Uneven heating of Earth due to latitudinal differences and the arrangements of oceans and continents create a regular pattern of high and low pressure cells, is an important factor in why this area of eastern Russia has such low temperatures, since the Siberian high is a high pressure system.
My opinion on this is that the Siberian high is a very interesting weather phenomenon. I’ve heard of this pressure system before but never really researched it too much. All I knew before coming into this was that this pressure system was why Siberia and Russia is cold. After looking into it, I found that was false and is not the sole reason why Siberia is so cold. It was really cool and interesting researching this and finding it out for myself.