Cities of the Russian North in the Context of Climate Change

Climate change in Northern Russia through the prism of public perception

“…Observations and modeling indicate that permafrost temperature has increased by 1 to 2°C in Northern Russia in the past 35 years (Vaughan et al 2013;Anisimov and Sherstukov 2016). The depth of seasonal thawing has increased by 0.05-0.10 m in NWR, by 0-0.05 m and 0.10-0.15 m, respectively, in central Sakha and east of the Kolyma lowland, and did not change in Western Sakha and between the Lena and Viliui rivers (Anisimov and Kokorev 2017). By themselves, permafrost changes might not be visible.…”

“…Knowledge about climate change does not always arouse concern among the respondents because in the northern regions of Russia climate change has a number of positive consequences (Anisimov 2016). Potential gains include less severe living conditions (Zolotokrylin et al 2018) with a positive impact on human health (Mokhov et al 2013); reduced demand for heating energy (Anisimov and Kokorev 2017); a longer ice-free period with direct implications for river and marine transportation in the Arctic, including the northern sea route (Stephenson 2017); better conditions for agriculture in many regions of Northern Eurasia (Porfiriev 2011), the northward shift of vegetation zones (Zhiltcova and Anisimov 2015), and increased bioproductivity (Anisimov et al 2015).…”

Introduction from the editors

“…Until 2019, climate change was largely considered an abstract, marginal and unimportant phenomenon in Russia, and the international community paid little attention to Russia's role in climate change (Poberezhskaya 2016;Poberezhskaya 2021;Stepanov and Makarov 2021; Kokorina and Korppoo 2013)-even though Russia is not only one of the biggest producers and exporters of climate-damaging fossil fuels, its state budget and economy are highly dependent on these exports, and it is the fourth largest direct producer of greenhouse gases (GHGs). At the same time, Russia's vulnerability to climate change and its effects is increasingly evident: yearly wildfires have grown in size and destructiveness (Shvidenko and Schepaschenko 2013;Kharuk et al 2021;Parker 2021;Novenko et al 2022), floods have been ascribed to climate change (Zhuravlev et al 2016;Anisimov and Kokorev 2017), and melting permafrost is endangering the infrastructure of entire cities built on ice (Anisimov and Reneva 2006;Streletskyi and Shiklomanov 2017). Russia is the largest country in the world with a high variety of climatic zones and vegetation, and it has the biggest surface of permafrost and the largest area of boreal forests, both of which store immense amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG)-and are increasingly under threat due to climate change (Rosgidromet 2022;Anisimov and Zimov 2021;Kirillina et al 2020).…”

Russia in a changing climate

“…Other climate change impacts vary across Russian cities by geography and urban economies. Changes in snowfall and therefore demand for snow removal vary by region (Anisimov & Kokorev, 2017). Coastal cities like St. Petersburg and Vladivostok will suffer the most from rising sea levels, storm surges, and flooding, although the extensive St. Petersburg dam, completed in 2011, was designed to withstand up to 5 meters of sea level rise and thus protect some settlements against floods for the next 100 years (Kozin, 2019).…”