Changes in the Duration of Stable Cold and Warm Seasons at the Beginning of the 21st Century in Russia

Abstract

This paper reports on changes in the dates of the beginning, end, and duration of the stable cold and warm seasons in Russia in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. For 2001–2015, the duration of the cold period was significantly reduced by 30 days almost throughout the country. In the eastern European part of Russia, Southern Urals, these changes were caused by a later beginning of the winter; on the remaining territory, this happened because of the date shifting for both the beginning and the end of the stable cold season. The duration of the warm period increases everywhere due to the earlier end of the spring, except for south of the European part of Russia, Southern Yakutia, and the northern part of Western Siberia.