Green canopies in the urban Russian Arctic

The majority of residents in cities in the Russian Arctic are not indigenous to the area (approx 95%), mostly migrating from the south and west. They are not used to Arctic ecosystems and the Arctic climate with lower temperatures, permafrost, less rich soil and having to adapt to differing light with polar days and nights….

Feeling the burn in the Volga

Warmer climates have increased the frequency and volume of forest fires across Russia, even in areas which have snow cover. About 98% of forest fires in populated Russia were estimated to be caused by human activity and in more remote areas, approximately 50% caused by thunderstorms and lightening. The researchers reviewed the risks and effect…

Biting back at humans with climate change

A human disease called dirofilariasis caused by parasitic mosquitoes has been affected by the warmer climate in Russia,  expanding north and east, currently 58° N  (Kondrashin et al., 2022) in both European and Asian Russia. Researchers developed a map using data from the Russian Meteorological office between 1937 and 2016. The data shows long term average…

Distilling hard and soft water strategies in climate adaption policies

Despite Russia’s rich freshwater resources, it faces significant water problems, which arise from the country’s adaptation policy with low priority to climate action and less advanced risk management. Safonov from NRU HSE, Moscow outlines the key characteristic of water-related problems in the world’s biggest country. Firstly, Russia is one of the world’s leaders in its…

Are Russians eco-conscious?

Kurbanov and Prokhoda  recently studied the level of climate change awareness among Russians. They analysed the relationship between ecological knowledge and attitudes towards environment with an ‘ecological behaviour model’. The model considers ecological knowledge as a basis for environmental friendly behaviour and active engagement in public action towards climate change. They explore the links between the awareness…