Kamchatka Peninsula - Climate

Climate

Although Kamchatka lies at similar latitudes to Great Britain, cold arctic winds from Siberia combined with the cold Oyashio sea current result in the peninsula being covered in snow from October to late May. Under the Köppen climate classification Kamchatka generally has a subarctic climate (Dfc) but higher and more northerly areas have a polar climate (ET). Kamchatka is much wetter and milder than eastern Siberia, and is essentially transitional from the hypercontinental climate of Siberia and Manchuria to the rain-drenched subpolar oceanic climate of the Aleutian Islands.

There is considerable variation, however, between the rain-drenched and heavily glaciated east coast and the drier and more continental interior valley. In the heavily glaciated Kronotsky Peninsula where maritime influences are most pronounced annual precipitation can reach as high as 2,500 millimetres (98 in), whilst the southeast coast south of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky generally receives around 1,350 millimetres (53 in) of rainfall equivalent per year. Considerable local variations exist: southern parts of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky metropolitan area can receive as much as 430 millimetres (17 in) more than the northern part of the city. Temperatures here are very mild, with summer maxima no higher than 15 °C (59 °F) and winter lows around −8 °C (18 °F), whilst diurnal temperature ranges are seldom more than 5˚C (9˚F) due to persistent fog on exposed parts of the coast. South of 57˚N there is no permafrost due to the relatively mild winters and heavy snow cover, whilst northward discontinuous permafrost prevails. The west coastal plain has a similar climate, though rather drier with precipitation ranging from 880 millimetres (35 in) in the south to as little as 430 millimetres (17 in) in the north, where winter temperatures become considerably colder at around −20 °C (−4 °F).

In the interior valley of the Kamchatka River, represented by Klyuchi, precipitation is much lower at around 450 to 650 millimetres (18 to 26 in) and temperatures are significantly more continental, reaching 19 °C (66 °F) on a typical summer day and during extreme cold winter spells falling as low as −41 °C (−42 °F). Sporadic permafrost prevails over the lower part of this valley, but it becomes more widespread at higher altitudes and glaciers or continuous permafrost prevail north of 55˚N.

The summer months are popular with tourists when maximum temperatures range from 15 to 20 °C (59 to 68 °F), but a growing trend in winter sports keeps tourism pulsing year-round. The volcanoes and glaciers play a role in forming of Kamchatka's climate, and hot springs have kept alive dozens of species decimated during the last ice age.