A climatologist warned of an increase in weather anomalies in Russia

The number of weather anomalies in Russia has doubled, and this trend will continue to grow. A leading researcher at the Main Geophysical Observatory named after A.I. spoke about this in a conversation with Lenta.ru. Voeykova, author of the book “Climate Paradoxes” Andrey Kiselev.

“Each individual event is poorly predictable, but if we talk about Roshydromet statistics, then in recent years the number of such (weather – editor’s note) anomalies has at least doubled,” Kiselev noted.

He also noted that in Russia, due to the size of its territory, there are zones with different climatic conditions, and when some regions experience heavy rains, others experience hurricanes or drought.

According to Kiselev, also in different Russian regions, “heat waves are increasingly observed” – periods during which “in a certain area the air temperature becomes at least five degrees above the climate norm and remains at this level for at least five days.” According to the climatologist, during such periods the air temperature remains high even at night.

Kiselev cited weather anomalies and heat waves in 2010 as an example. Then, according to him, the country recorded a fairly high mortality rate, since temperature fluctuations affect the health of the elderly or people with poor health.

Whether there will be abnormal heat in Russia in the summer of 2024, the climatologist found it difficult to answer for sure. According to him, strong heat waves like 14 years ago “are recorded several times per century.” But it is almost impossible to predict each individual event, says Kiselev, since the influence is exerted by a complex of factors: terrain, meteorological parameters and characteristics of the region. The frequency of such anomalies is explained by anthropogenic warming, the climatologist noted.

In an interview with the publication, Kiselev also said that scientists have developed an “index of climate risks for all regions.” According to its indicators, the Central region of Russia is subject to the greatest damage and destructive consequences from weather disasters, and Northwestern Russia is among the “prosperous” ones, the climatologist noted.

According to the expert, according to statistics, from 2001 to 2020, on average, 371 dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena occurred annually in Russia, which caused significant damage to the region’s economy and local residents.

Since the beginning of April, many Russian regions have found themselves in a flood zone. The most critical situation was observed in the Orenburg, Tyumen and Kurgan regions. Thousands of people were evacuated. In Orsk, almost 7 thousand houses were flooded due to a dam break.

Weather anomalies were observed not only in Russia. In the middle and end of the month, heavy rains and floods hit China, the UAE, and Kenya.

Summer, according to weather forecasters, promises hot weather. In particular, temperatures in Moscow are predicted to be higher than the climate norm.