St. Petersburg: Sun Above Norm, No 30°C Heat

The average air temperature in St. Petersburg for the first two decades of July reached +19.2°C – slightly above the climate norm. Chief forecaster of the Northern capital Alexander Kolesov reported this on July 21 in his Telegram channel. He noted: “This year we just can’t reach +30°C,” recalling that last year at the same period 30-degree heat was already recorded.

According to the forecaster, until the end of July the weather in the city will please with sunny days, and the total duration of sunshine will exceed the norm. “In St. Petersburg it’s already +14°C, so it’s warming up gradually,” added Kolesov. For comparison, he cited sunshine hours data: in 2025 the sun shone 121.6 hours, in 2021 – 132.9 hours, in 2014 – 124.6 hours.

A detailed analysis showed that in mid-July there were many sunny days. From the 16th to the 18th, the sun shone more than 15 hours a day, which is rare. Especially notable was July 17, when the duration of daylight reached 15.9 hours – a record for July in the current century. Last year, July 15, 16, and 18 also saw 15.8 hours of sunshine, and on July 18, 2017, the same 15.8 hours were recorded.

Kolesov noted that days with 16-hour sunshine did occur, but all of them belong to the 1960s, and once – on July 9, 1970. The forecaster linked this to the relocation of the weather station on the Petrograd Side in 1970 due to the construction of the Leningrad Youth Palace. Even a shift of 250 meters changed the trajectory of the sun’s rays, losing 12 minutes of sunlight.

As of now, the sun has reached 70% of the monthly norm, and precipitation (excluding July 21) – 95% of the norm. The forecaster emphasized that overall, the sun is gradually increasing in total hours.