This week we are taking a break from our Unknown territories series to look at an ubiquitous feature of the Trans-Siberian experience: the weather and climate!

A rainy day in Russia The Trans-Siberian railway is over 9000 km in length and connects Russia, Mongolia and China. Making the journey means you will encounter many climates depending on the time of year you travel. This quick guide will make sure you’re ready for anything and everything!

About his exile to Siberia, Fyodor Dostoyevsky was quoted as saying: “In summer, intolerable closeness; in winter, unendurable cold.” Thankfully he was talking about the barracks in which he was forced to stay and not Siberia as a whole. Although the climate changes that you will experience while travelling can often vary from one extreme to the other, obviously this depends on which season it is. The Trans-Siberian Experience offers you many permutations of trips to travel across two continents at different times of the year.

The Russian climate
In European Russia the days are warm and long from late May to early September. July and August are by far the warmest months and the months when Russians and visitors to the country tend to take their holidays there. This means buying train tickets at short notice can be a problem, so it’s best to get them well in advance of these months. In Siberia and the Russian Far East the months of May and June are peak periods for encephalitis-carrying ticks, but by September they are all long gone.

Autumn tends to be short and sweet and by the end of October winter has set in. Winter in Russia means lots of snow and extremely low temperatures – although this is a very beautiful time to be in Russia as the snow just makes everything look quite picturesque. This can be a popular time to travel for this very reason. Spring arrives in late March to April and this brings with it the great thaw, when everything turns into a slushy mud.

The climate in Mongolia
Mongolia is located in the northern hemisphere so its temperatures are similar to those found in Russia and northern China. The summer lasts from May until the end of August, the autumn from September to October, the winter from November to February, and the spring from March to May. Mongolia is known for having extreme continental climate variations because it’s so far inland and there is no sea to moderate its climate. And because of this it is known as the “Land of Blue Sky” as there is rarely a cloud in the sky. The summers are mostly short with zero humidity and intense sunshine.

Most Mongolians consider March and April to be the worst months because they fear a harsh spring more than the long winter. A harsh spring can have a devastating effect on livestock, after the animals had just about made it through the winter. The so-called “cold season” runs from November to February. During this period Ulaanbaatar becomes the coldest capital in the world. Temperatures sink as low as -30°C in January and February and remain below freezing until the arrival of spring.

The climate in China
They say the best time to travel to China is in the spring, March to May, or in the autumn, September to early November. The summers in China are hot and dry and can be draining and uncomfortable if you are not used to the excessive heat and humidity. It is possible to travel to China all year around, but you have to be prepared for what each season brings when it comes to the weather. Beijing in autumn is particularity nice as are all the cities during this period. It’s the same in the spring – these being the best seasons to travel.

The winters in China can be as extreme as you’ll find in Mongolia, the temperatures dropping as low as -40°C. The winters can be as bitterly cold as the summers can be baking hot, so you need to work out what you are comfortable with and not comfortable with. And from this work out what is the best time of year for you to travel to the region.

Check the weather before you go:

World Climates: www.worldclimate.com

World Weather: www.weatherbase.com

[Next time: we’ll be back with Unknown territories series next week.]

[Photos: of Russia by Nina Stawski; of China by MichaelTyler]