Climate
The climate is arctic and severe. Snow cover is present for 9 months of the year.
- Average temperature in January: −28°C to −31°C
- Temperature in July: At the coasts icy Arctic water lets the temperatures stay relatively low. Average maximum temperatures from +8°C to +11°C and average minimum temperatures from -3°C to +1°C. In the interior of the islands the average maximum temperatures in July are +16°C to +19°C and average minimum temperatures +3°C to +6°C.
- Precipitation: up to 132 mm a year
Permafrost and underground ice are very common. The surface of the islands is covered with Arctic tundra vegetation and numerous lakes.
The ocean surrounding the islands is covered with ice most of the year. During warm years, the ocean briefly opens for navigation July through October. During cold years, islands may remain ice-locked through the summer.
Polar night conditions are present November through February, and, conversely, the Sun remains above the horizon continuously during summer months.
Read more about this topic: New Siberian Islands
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
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To us he is no more a person
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—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“The question of place and climate is most closely related to the question of nutrition. Nobody is free to live everywhere; and whoever has to solve great problems that challenge all his strength actually has a very restricted choice in this matter. The influence of climate on our metabolism, its retardation, its acceleration, goes so far that a mistaken choice of place and climate can not only estrange a man from his task but can actually keep it from him: he never gets to see it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)