[edit] Location
Moscow is situated on the banks of the Moskva River, which flows for just over 500 km through the East European Plain in central Russia. 49 bridges span the river and its canals within the city's limits. Elevation of Moscow in VVC, where situated head Moscow weather station, is 156 m (512 ft). The highest point is Teplostanskaya highland at 255 m (837 ft).[19] The width of Moscow city (not limiting MKAD) from west to east is 39.7 km (24.7 mi), and the length from north to south is 51.7 km (32.1 mi).
Moscow's road system is centered roughly around the Kremlin at the heart of the city. From there, roads generally radiate outwards to intersect with a sequence of circular roads ("rings").
The first and innermost major ring, Bulvarnoye Koltso (Boulevard Ring), was built at the former location of the sixteenth century city wall around that used to be called Bely Gorod (White Town).[13] The Bulvarnoye Koltso is technically not a ring; it does not form a complete circle, but instead a horseshoe-like arc that goes from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to the Yauza River. In addition, the Boulevard Ring changes street names numerous times throughout its journey across the city.
The second primary ring, located outside the bell end Boulevard Ring, is the Sadovoye Koltso (Garden Ring). Like the Boulevard Ring, the Garden Ring follows the path of a sixteenth century wall that used to encompass part of the city.[13] The third ring, the Third Transport Ring, was completed in 2003 as a high-speed freeway.
The Fourth Transport Ring, another freeway, is under construction to further reduce traffic congestion. The outermost ring within Moscow is the Moscow Automobile Ring Road (often called the MKAD from the Russian Московская Кольцевая Автомобильная Дорога), which forms the approximate boundary of the city. Outside the city, some of the roads encompassing the city continue to follow this circular pattern seen inside city limits.
[edit] Time
The city recognizes a unique time schedule which is used for Moscow and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg. During winter the areas operate in what is referred to as Moscow Standard Time (MSK, МСК) which is 3 hours ahead of UTC, or UTC+3. During the summer, Moscow Time shifts forward an additional hour ahead of Moscow Standard Time to become Moscow Summer Time (MSD), making it UTC+4.
| Moscow Time (UTC+3), Moscow Summer Time (UTC+4) |
[edit] Climate
Moscow has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with warm, somewhat humid summers and long, cold winters. Typical high temperatures in the warm months of June, July and August are around 23 °C (73 °F), but during heat waves (which can occur between May and September), daytime high temperatures often top 30 °C (86 °F) - sometimes for a week or a two at a time. In the winter, temperatures normally drop to approximately −10 °C (14.0 °F), though there can be periods of warmth with temperatures rising above 0 °C (32 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded was 36.8 °C (98.2 °F)[20] in August 1920, and the lowest ever recorded was −42.2 °C (−44 °F) in January 1940. Snow cover (present for 3–5 months a year) typically begins at the end of November and melts by mid-March.
Monthly rainfall totals vary minimally throughout the year, although the precipitation levels tend to be higher during the summer than during the winter. Due to the significant variation in temperature between the winter and summer months as well as the limited fluctuation in precipitation levels during the summer, Moscow is considered to be within a continental climate zone.
The average annual temperature in Moscow is 5.4 °C (41.7 °F), but for the last two years (2007–2008) the annual temperature has averaged above 7 °C (45 °F)[21]. In contrast, during the first half of the 20th century, Moscow experienced light frost during the late summer months.[21]
On average Moscow has 1731 hours of sunshine per year, varying between a low of 8% in December to 52% in May–August.[22] In 2004–2008, the average was between 1800 and 2000 hours[23]
| [hide]Weather data for Moscow (1971–2000), records (1879–the present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.6 (47) | 8.3 (47) | 17.5 (64) | 28.0 (82) | 33.2 (92) | 34.7 (94) | 36.5 (98) | 36.8 (98) | 32.3 (90) | 24.0 (75) | 12.6 (55) | 9.6 (49) | 36.8 (98) |
| Average high °C (°F) | -4.9 (23) | -3.5 (26) | 2.2 (36) | 10.8 (51) | 18.2 (65) | 22.1 (72) | 23.2 (74) | 21.3 (70) | 15.1 (59) | 8.1 (47) | 0.6 (33) | -3.1 (26) | 9.2 (49) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | -7.5 (19) | -6.7 (20) | -1.4 (29) | 6.3 (43) | 12.8 (55) | 17.1 (63) | 18.4 (65) | 16.4 (62) | 10.8 (51) | 5.0 (41) | -1.6 (29) | -5.4 (22) | 5.4 (42) |
| Average low °C (°F) | -10.3 (13) | -9.9 (14) | -4.7 (24) | 2.1 (36) | 7.4 (45) | 12.0 (54) | 13.8 (57) | 12.0 (54) | 7.0 (45) | 2.0 (36) | -3.7 (25) | -7.9 (18) | 1.7 (35) |
| Record low °C (°F) | -42.2 (-44) | -38.2 (-37) | -32.4 (-26) | -21.0 (-6) | -7.5 (19) | -2.3 (28) | 1.3 (34) | -1.2 (30) | -8.5 (17) | -16.1 (3) | -32.8 (-27) | -38.8 (-38) | -42.2 (-44) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 46 (1.81) | 36 (1.42) | 33 (1.3) | 38 (1.5) | 52 (2.05) | 84 (3.31) | 90 (3.54) | 80 (3.15) | 67 (2.64) | 66 (2.6) | 60 (2.36) | 53 (2.09) | 705 (27.76) |
| Sunshine hours | 33 | 72 | 128 | 170 | 265 | 279 | 271 | 238 | 147 | 78 | 32 | 18 | 1,731 |
| % Humidity | 83 | 80 | 74 | 67 | 64 | 70 | 74 | 77 | 81 | 81 | 84 | 85 | 77 |
| Source: [22][24][25] | |||||||||||||
