Moscow has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb, Trewartha Dcbo) with warm to hot summers and long, cold, winters. Typical high temperatures in the warm months of June, July and August are around , but during heat waves, which can occur anytime from May to September, daytime temperature highs often top sometimes for one or two weeks. In the winter, temperatures normally drop to approximately , though there can be periods of warmth with temperatures rising above . Summer lasts from mid-May to the beginning of September, and winter lasts from the beginning of November to the end of March. Humidity is high year-round, although it is lowest during the spring months.
More extreme continental climates at the same latitude- such as parts of Eastern Canada or Siberia- have much colder winters than Moscow, suggesting that there is still significant moderation from the Atlantic Ocean despite the fact that Moscow is far from the sea.
Monthly averages and records for Moscow
The highest temperature ever recorded was on July 29, 2010. The lowest temperature ever recorded was . In 2007 three record highs for the month occurred – January , March , and May ; in 2008, there were new record highs for December and the entire winter: . On July 23, 2010, the temperature reached and continued to set record highs each following day until it finally reached on July 29, 2010. In November 2010 a new month record high of occurred (after +12.6 in 1927).
Average annual temperature in Moscow (1991-2020 normals) is , but recently (2007, 2008, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2022 - 2025) it has been higher than . In the first half of the 20th century, there was light night frost in late summer. 2025 become the warmest in the history of meteorological observations, the average annual temperature was (while the monthly averages temperatures were above even in March and November).Средние месячные и годовые температуры воздуха в Москве. This is higher than the average annual temperature for the period 1991-2020 in several northern US states, such as Minnesota.
Monthly precipitation totals are moderately high throughout the year, although precipitation levels tend to be higher during the summer than during the winter. Due to the significant variation in temperature between the winter and summer months as well as the limited fluctuation in precipitation levels during the summer, Moscow is considered to have a continental climate with no true dry season.
Most of the records and averages are given for VVC weather station, located in the North-Eastern administrative okrug of Moscow. The temperature from this station averages 0.5–1 °C lower than in the city center, and 0.5–2 °C higher than night minimums in the suburbs.
Year of Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Year of Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high (max t°C) 2007 1989 2014 2012 2007 2021 2010 2010 1890 1915 2013 2008 2010 high avg t°C 2020 1990 2007 2000 1979 1999 2010 2022 2024 2020 2013 2006 2025 Record low (min t°C) 1940 1929 1913 1879 1885 1916 1886 1885 1881 1960 1890 1940 1940 low avg t°C 1893 1929 1860 1929 1918 1904 1904 1884 1993 1976 1844 1788 1862
General characteristics According to observations from 1991-2020, January is the coldest month of the year in Moscow (the average temperature is -6.2 °C), and February is almost as cold (-5.9 °C). The warmest month is July (average temperature +19.7 °C. The coldest month in terms of average monthly temperature in the entire history of observations was January 1893 (-21.6 °C), the warmest was July 2010 (+26.0 °C).
600–700 mm of precipitation falls in Moscow and the surrounding area per year (the record was 892 mm in 1952), with the most precipitation occurring in the summer months, and the least in February, March and April. The driest year for the entire measurement period was 1920, when 338 mm of precipitation fell, and 1964 and 1972 (397 mm each) at VDNKh. Precipitation is decreasing in the city from the northwest to the southeast.
Fogs are not uncommon in Moscow. They can be observed throughout the year. It is possible that the accumulation of moisture in the atmosphere is facilitated by the active influence of industrial enterprises and transport.
The average annual temperature for 1991-2021 is 6.3 °C The average annual temperature over the last 20 years is 7.2 °C (over the last decade +8 °C, in the record warm year of 2025, it reached 8.6 °C. or +9.5°C (2025) at the Baltschug weather station).
wind speed — 2.3 m/с The average annual air humidity is 76% The average annual number of hours of sunshine is 1,731 hours. In 2007 and 2014 — more than 2000 hours. At the same time, there is a tendency to decrease the duration of sunshine in late autumn and winter and to increase in spring and summer. July 2014 was the sunniest July measured since 1955 with a sunshine duration of 411 hours, and the whole of 2014 was the record sunniest in the 21st century with a sunshine duration of 2,168 hours.
Moscow's air regime has its own peculiarities: air flows seem to flow into the central part of the city, bringing with them precipitation or heat. This is largely due to the terrain features and the temperature difference in the center of the capital and the periphery. Thus, in the northern, southern and central districts of Moscow, there are areas with fairly dense residential buildings, which are characterized by low wind speeds (1–2 m/s) and frequent occurrence of calm in spring and summer.
As a rule, the temperature in the central areas of the capital is higher than on the outskirts and outside the city, which is especially noticeable at night during the frosts in winter and frosts in spring and autumn, when the temperature difference can reach 5-7 °C, but in cloudy and rainy weather it is often absent or insignificant, no more than 1-3 °C. This is confirmed by the fact that the readings of the weather station at the All-Russian Exhibition Center, located in the north of the city (the data from this weather station is official and is used in the media to determine the actual weather and temperature records in Moscow), are usually 1-2 °C lower than the values of the weather station on Baltschuga, located in the city center. The absolute minimum temperature on it is -38.1 °C, and the absolute maximum is +38.2 °C.
The year 2010 in Moscow took the first place in terms of the number of daily maximum temperature records (28), however, due to the cold January, the year did not become the warmest in history. At the same time, new records of the minimum daily temperature in the city have not been recorded for more than 25 years.https://www.mos.ru/upload/documents/oiv/o_sostojanii_okruzhajushhej_sredy_v_gorode_moskve_v_2014_godu.pdf с 30 ноября 1998 года
Moscow weather stations Moscow Weather Station (VDNH) (operating since 1948), located in the north of the city (now the main weather station in Moscow). Moscow weather station, the observatory of Moscow State University (operating since 1954), in the southwest of the city. Moscow weather station, Observatory named after Mikhelson's Observatory (Timiryazevskaya Agricultural Academy) is an observatory named after V. A. Mikhelson, in the north of the city (from 1879 to May 1948 it was the main meteorological station in Moscow). The Moscow (Baltschug) weather station, in the city center, near the Kremlin, has been operating since 1946. The Moscow (Tushino) weather station (operating since 1987) is located in the north-west of the city. Nemchinovka weather station (in the west of the city, next to the MKAD). Moscow Weather station (Mikhailovskoye) (operating since 1961). Meteorological post Moscow (Izmailovo) (operating since 1971) in the east of the city.
In addition, information from meteorological stations located on the territory of Moscow's Vnukovo and Ostafevo airports, Zhukovsky (airport), Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports near Moscow is used. Also on the territory of the city there were other, now closed meteorological stations: Moscow (Krylatskoye), Moscow (Losinoostrovskaya), Lenino-Dachnoye, as well as meteorological posts: Moscow (Teply Stan), Moscow (ZIL), Moscow (Khoroshevo), Belorussky railway Station, Moscow (Karacharovo). In addition, as part of the program to increase the meteorological network, automatic meteorological stations were installed: Moscow (Butovo), Moscow (Strogino), Moscow (Tolstopaltsevo).
The Seasons Winter
Winter in Moscow is moderately frosty, but with thaws that can take from 3–5 days to half or more of winter. At the same time, thaws are usually mild in calendar winter (temperatures do not exceed - 2.. 0 °C), with precipitation mainly in the form of sleet and ice, so snow cover in Moscow persists throughout the winter, unlike, for example, in the Baltic States, where the influence of the Atlantic is more pronounced.
The coldest winter with an average temperature of -26.8 °C was observed in 1892-1893, when the average monthly temperature in January was -31.6 °C. The warmest winter with an average temperature of - 2.0 °C was in 2019-2020, when the average monthly temperature in January was - 1 °C. In the current century, the coldest winter with an average temperature of -19.8 °C was recorded in 2009-2010, when the average monthly temperature in January was -34.5 °C. The fewest days with thaws (3) were in the winters of 1928-1929 and 1940-1941, the most (73) in the winter of 2019-2020. The snowiest winter with a maximum snow cover height of 50 cm was in 2019-2020, and the snowiest was in 1993-1994 (178 cm). The driest winter was observed in 1890-1891, when 27.4 mm of precipitation fell. The lowest maximum of the calendar winter (+1 °C) was observed in the winter of 1940-1941, the highest maximum (+3.6 °C) — in the winter of 2008-2009. The mildest winter with a minimum of -18 °C was in 2019-2020, the most severe with a minimum of -52.2 °C was in 1939-1940. The air temperature dropped below -50 °C in the winters of 1892-1893, 1939-1940, 1941-1942 and, according to unofficial data [what?], in the winter of 1978-1979. In the 21st century, the air temperature has never dropped below -50 °C or even below -48 °C, and only once has it dropped below -47 °C — in January 2006 (January 18 and 19).