Russia Weather for Indian Students: Month by Month and City by City

Prepared by the Edumapple admissions team, Kakkanad, Kerala· Updated 15 October 2026· How we check facts

Russia is cold from November to March in every university city we cover. The January mean ranges from +1.0 °C in Makhachkala to −17.5 °C in Tomsk, while Kochi stays near 27 to 28 °C all year. This guide gives month-by-month temperatures for Moscow and Novosibirsk, daylight and snow months, a table of all 43 cities, and what to buy and how heating works.

Russia weather for a student from Kerala: what to expect

Most families in Kerala have never lived in a place where water freezes. The India Meteorological Department normals for 1991 to 2020 at Kochi airport show a mean daily maximum of 32.5 °C and a mean daily minimum of 23.1 °C over the year. Taking the midpoint of the two, Kochi sits at about 27.8 °C on average, and no month has a midpoint below 26.6 °C or above 29.6 °C. In Kochi the weather changes with the rain, not with the temperature: July brings 571 mm of rain at 30.0 °C by day.

Russia is the opposite. Moscow's January mean is −6.2 °C (1991 to 2020), its yearly average is 6.3 °C, and snow falls on about 116 days a year. Tomsk, in Siberia, has a January mean of −17.5 °C. Compared with Kochi's yearly midpoint, that is a gap of about 34 degrees in Moscow and about 45 in Tomsk. The summer is the surprise: July means are 18 to 26 °C in all our cities, and the south feels hot, so your suitcase must hold two wardrobes.

A monthly mean hides the cold spells. It averages day and night, and in a cold spell a morning can be 5 to 10 degrees below the mean. The record low in Moscow is −42.1 °C (January 1940) and in Novosibirsk −51.1 °C. Those are extremes, not the normal month, but they explain why local people wear a proper coat from November.

Russia weather by month: September to June

A student normally arrives in late summer for the new academic year and stays through the first winter. This table follows the academic year in two cities that Kerala students choose: Moscow, the mild end of the central belt, and Novosibirsk, a typical Siberian city. Both lie at about 55 degrees north, so their daylight is almost the same, but Novosibirsk is 10 to 12 degrees colder from November to March.

Read the table as four seasons for a student:

• September: mild, 10 to 12 °C on average in both cities, with the day still nearly 13 hours long. This is the easiest month to arrive in. Rain jackets matter more than winter coats.
• October: the turning point. Moscow averages +5.8 °C and Novosibirsk +3.3 °C, and snow falls on 5 days in Moscow and 11 in Novosibirsk. Buy the winter jacket and boots this month, with a senior student, not in the last week of November.
• November to March: the winter. Snow falls on 15 to 25 days a month in both cities. Moscow stays between −0.5 and −6.2 °C; Novosibirsk drops to −17.0 °C in January and does not rise above −6.8 °C until April. The Moscow table also records an average maximum snow depth of 35 cm in February.
• April to June: a fast warm-up. Moscow is above +6 °C by April and +17 °C in June, so the winter jacket can go into the wardrobe in May. Ask your university for its academic calendar, as exam sessions fall in both winter and early summer at many universities. In Novosibirsk snow still falls on 9 days in April.

Light matters as much as temperature. On 15 December the sun is up for about 7 hours in both cities, against 11 h 33 min in Kochi. Moscow gets only 18 hours of bright sunshine in the whole of December and 33 in January (1991 to 2020), so many days feel grey for weeks. Students who come from a bright, humid coast often notice this before the cold. From November to February you will often walk to class or hospital in the dark. By June the day is over 17 hours long and you may see light until late in the evening.

Russia winter temperature in all 43 university cities

The next tables list every city where the universities on this site teach MBBS to foreign students. For each we give the January mean and July mean from our city data file. Most of the figures are 30-year normals for 1991 to 2020. Six are not, and the last column says why: Moscow (2014 to 2024 station data), Saint Petersburg (2011 to 2020 at Pulkovo airport), Yaroslavl (1961 to 1990) and Belgorod, Chelyabinsk and Ivanovo, where the source does not state the period. Treat those six as a good guide, not an exact value. Each city name opens its page with universities, fees and the route from Kerala.

The regions are ordered from the mildest winter to the coldest, and in each table the mildest city comes first. The labels are ours: Mild is warmer than −5 °C in January, Cold is −5 to −10 °C, Hard is −10 to −15 °C and Severe is below −15 °C.

The spread inside a region can still be large. Central Russia runs from −5.8 °C in Smolensk to −12.0 °C in Yaroslavl, but the Yaroslavl value comes from 1961 to 1990 and a Russian table with other sources gives −9.4 °C, so do not read it as a sharp difference. Siberia is the only region where every city has a January mean colder than −15 °C.

All citiesTuition under ₹4 lakh a yearFMGE above 25%

North Caucasus and Dagestan

South and Black Earth belt

North-West and Baltic

Central Russia

Volga region

Urals

Siberia

One more reading of the tables: the July column is not the same as the January one. Astrakhan (26.1 °C) and Volgograd (24.8 °C) are hot in July, and Arkhangelsk (16.5 °C) is cool. A student in the south needs light cotton clothes and sun protection from June to August. See our list of all cities for the universities in each.

Coldest city in Russia and the coldest university city

The coldest city in Russia depends on how you count. Yakutsk, in the far east, has a January mean of −36.9 °C and a record low of −64.4 °C (1991 to 2020 normals); Wikipedia calls it the coldest city in the world with over 200,000 people. The village of Oymyakon, with a 2010 census population of 462, has a January mean of −45.7 °C and an official record of −67.7 °C. None of our 43 cities is in that part of Russia, and no university on this site is there.

The coldest university city in our list is Tomsk (−17.5 °C in January), followed by Kemerovo (−17.3 °C), Novosibirsk (−17.0 °C), Omsk (−16.9 °C) and Barnaul (−16.2 °C). The warmest is Makhachkala (+1.0 °C), then Kaliningrad (−1.2 °C), Vladikavkaz (−1.7 °C), Nalchik (−1.8 °C) and Stavropol (−2.3 °C). So the difference between the best and worst winter in our list is 18.5 degrees. The Kemerovo table has also recorded −47.9 °C in January, which shows what a cold spell means in Siberia.

Weather in Moscow for Indian students

Moscow is the first stop for most students and the weather in Moscow is typical of the central belt. September is pleasant at +11.9 °C. Snow falls on 5 days in October, and by December it falls on 24 days. January and February are the coldest months (−6.2 and −5.9 °C), and the snow is deepest in February. The thaw begins in March at −0.7 °C, which brings wet streets and slush, and May is already +13.6 °C. July is close to +20 °C, so a Moscow summer is warm, not hot.

Saint Petersburg is a little milder in January (−5.0 °C on the 2011 to 2020 figures), and Smolensk (−5.8 °C) is milder than Moscow too, so Moscow is not the warmest of the central cities. Both big cities have metro systems and heated indoor spaces, which makes winter easier than the mean suggests. They also cost more to live in; see the cost of living guide and the pages for Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The fee and FMGE record of the university should come first, and temperature second.

Who copes better where: south, Volga, Urals and Siberia

There is no rule that says a Malayali student copes better in one region. What changes is how much of the year you spend in the cold and how hard the cold is:

• Caucasus, Don and Lower Volga (for example Makhachkala, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd): January means of +1.0 to −5.7 °C. This is the easiest start for a first-time traveller. The trade-off is hot summers (Volgograd 24.8 °C in July) and, for several cities, the security and airport questions in our safety guide. Mild weather does not make a city a safe choice: Kursk and Belgorod are mild but have closed airports, and the Indian Embassy advised caution for Indians in those regions in August 2024.
• Central Russia and the Volga region (Moscow, Kazan, Samara): January means of −6 to −12 °C. Winter is real, with sub-zero days from November to March, but daily life is easy: metros, shops and hostels are built for it.
• Urals (Ufa, Perm, Yekaterinburg): −11.8 to −14.9 °C. Expect longer, colder winters and a heavier jacket. Many students from the tropics adapt in the first winter, but the first October to March needs planning.
• Siberia (Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk): −15.1 to −17.5 °C. Winter here lasts about five months, from November to March, and buildings are heated for it, so the outdoor clothing is what you spend on.

A student with asthma, a heart condition or cold-triggered allergies, or on regular medicines, should ask the family doctor before choosing a cold city. Food is the other daily question in any city; our Indian food guide explains what is realistic. Beyond the weather, compare fees, FMGE results and recognition on our universities pages.

What to buy for the Russian cold

Buy the heavy items in Russia and carry the light ones from Kerala. The right jacket for Kazan at −10 °C is different from the one for Tomsk at −17.5 °C, and local shops sell what suits the local climate. In short:

• From Kerala: 2 or 3 thermal innerwear sets, wool socks, two sweaters or fleeces, a cap that covers the ears, a scarf, gloves, indoor clothes and slippers, moisturiser and lip balm.
• In Russia, in October: a long winter jacket with a hood, waterproof boots with a thick non-slip sole, and a warm hat.
• For summer: keep light cotton clothes. July is 18 to 26 °C in every city and a rain jacket is useful in all seasons.

Our winter packing list has the full checklist and the questions to ask senior students before you shop. Keep a separate reserve for first-winter clothing in your budget.

Health in the cold: vitamin D, dry skin and ice

This is general information, not medical advice; see a doctor before you travel if you have a health condition.

• Vitamin D. The NHS says the body cannot make enough vitamin D from sunlight between October and early March in the UK, and advises a daily 10 microgram supplement in autumn and winter. It adds that people with dark skin, including South Asian background, should consider taking it all year. Moscow gets only 18 hours of bright sunshine in December. Ask a doctor in Kerala about vitamin D before departure and about a safe dose; the NHS warns against more than 100 micrograms (4,000 IU) a day.
• Dry skin and lips. Cold wind outside and heated air indoors dry the skin. NHS advice is to use an emollient, put it on soon after washing while the skin is still damp, and limit long hot showers. Bring your usual brand for the first weeks.
• Frostbite. The NHS lists cold, numb, stinging or pale skin as early signs. Go indoors, remove tight gloves and boots, and warm the area gradually; do not rub it or use a radiator, and seek medical care for hard, frozen skin or blisters.
• Ice injuries. Ice and packed snow cause falls on pavements. Wear boots with a deep non-slip sole, walk with your hands out of your pockets, and take small steps. Tell the university medical room if you hurt your wrist or knee, as pain after a fall can hide a fracture.
• Colds. Students often fall ill in the first October to December. Keep a small kit for fever and cough, carry a doctor's note for regular medicines, and see our student life guide for how medical insurance and university clinics work.

Heating in Russian hostels: when does it start?

Most Russian cities have central heating from district boilers, so hostels and flats are warm in January even at −15 °C outside. Under Government Decree No. 354 of 6 May 2011, heating is switched on when the average daily outdoor temperature has stayed at or below +8 °C for five days in a row, and switched off after five days above it. The decree sets no calendar date: the local administration decides, and it may start earlier. Press summaries say that in Moscow heating usually starts in the first ten days of October, while Volgograd and Krasnodar start in the second half of October.

The table of monthly means above shows why: Moscow's October mean is +5.8 °C, and Novosibirsk's is +3.3 °C, so heating is on in both cities by October and stays on until spring. A September arrival can come before the heating is on, so keep one warm layer within reach for the first nights. Ask the hostel warden about a few things: the date heating was switched on last year, whether the room has a radiator control, whether a personal heater is allowed, and whether the window can be sealed for winter. Rules differ by university and hostel.

Russia Weather: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the weather in Russia like for Indian students?

Winters are long and cold, summers are short and mild. January means run from +1.0 °C in Makhachkala to −17.5 °C in Tomsk, and July means from 16.5 to 26.1 °C. Snow lies from about November to March in most cities, and hostels are centrally heated.

What is the Russia winter temperature in Moscow?

The January mean in Moscow is −6.2 °C and the February mean is −5.9 °C (1991 to 2020 normals). Snow falls on 25 days in January and the deepest snow is about 35 cm in February. In a cold spell it can be 5 to 10 degrees colder than the mean.

Which month is the coldest in Russia?

January is the coldest month in Moscow and Novosibirsk. February is almost as cold in Moscow (−5.9 °C). In Siberia the cold lasts longer, with Novosibirsk at −6.8 °C in March.

Which is the coldest city in Russia for students?

Among the 43 university cities on this site it is Tomsk, with a January mean of −17.5 °C, then Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Omsk and Barnaul. Yakutsk and Oymyakon are far colder, but we have no university there.

Which Russian cities have a milder winter?

Makhachkala (+1.0 °C), Kaliningrad (−1.2 °C), Vladikavkaz (−1.7 °C), Nalchik (−1.8 °C) and Stavropol (−2.3 °C) have the mildest January means in our list. Check the airport and safety notes on each city page

When do hostels switch on the heating?

The rule is five days in a row at or below +8 °C average outdoor temperature, and the local administration decides the date. In Moscow it is usually in the first ten days of October. Ask the hostel what it did last year.

When should a Kerala student arrive to avoid the worst of the cold?

September is mild, +10 to +12 °C in Moscow and Novosibirsk, so arrival for the new academic year is the easiest time. Snow starts in October, so buy your winter jacket and boots within the first month, with a senior student's help.

Sources: India Meteorological Department normals 1991–2020 for Cochin International Airport as tabulated in the Wikipedia article "Kochi"; Wikipedia climate tables for Moscow (VDNKh), Novosibirsk, Yakutsk and Oymyakon (1991–2020 normals, from Pogoda.ru.net, Climate Monitor and Pogoda i Klimat) and for the 43 cities in our city data file (periods given in the tables); daylight hours calculated with the NOAA solar equations; NHS pages on vitamin D, frostbite and dry skin (nhs.uk); Government of the Russian Federation, Decree No. 354 of 6 May 2011 on utility services, as explained by Garant and press summaries on the start of the heating season; Indian Embassy in Moscow advisory of August 2024 on the Bryansk, Belgorod and Kursk regions. Checked October 2026.