Encompassing one-sixth of the terrestrial Earth, Northern Eurasia has a variety of
climates ranging from the polar deserts to subtropics. Not surprisingly, climatology as an
academic discipline has a long tradition here. National identity, that of an observant,
patient, resourceful person for whom hardships and distances are no object, helped.
(Those, who stand on deterministic position, argue that such an identity has formed under
the influence of long and severe winters!) Medieval monks chronicled weather with amazing
consistency and objectivity. Explorers in the 16th and 17th century described climates of
the most remote regions of Siberia and Pacific. Members of the Great Northern Expeditions,
accomplished under the command of Vitus Bering, established a network of meteorological
stations all the way between the Volga and the Pacific. The establishment of a major
centre for climatological research, the Major Physical Observatory in St. Petersburg, gave
a new impetus to scientific work. The first scientific climatological projects were
accomplished and the first scientific publications, concerned specifically with climate,
were published: Climatological Essay on Russia and The Climate of Russia by Veselovsky,
Climates of the World and Russia in Particular by Voeikov. Two types of landscapes
dominate Northern Eurasia: forests and steppes. Two types of economic activity have been
traditionally of national importance: forestry and agriculture. Russian climatologists
were among the first to analyse the influence of forests on climate. Already at the
beginning of the 19th century, Karazin published a monograph “The Importance of
Forestry, Especially for Russia” where he addressed this issue. Climatology of droughts
was researched comprehensively, especially in the context of southern European Russia and
Ukraine, and a vast body of literature on droughts exists dating back to the 18th century.
Climatological research diversified with time but one particular dimension, physical
climatology which is concerned with studies of the energy budget, has acquired a worldwide
reputation. Contemporary climatological research continues these traditions. In addition,
as in other parts of the world, the problems of climatic change and variability, pioneered
by a Russian climatologist, Budyko, are now a priority. The current period of climatic
warming may have strong implications for the sensitive environments in Eurasia and in
other parts of the world, not least via the teleconnections existing between the Eurasian
snow cover, monsoon, and ENSO. The causes, nature and impacts of past, present and indeed
the future climatic changes in Northern Eurasia present a challenge and endless research
opportunities.
