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METEOROLOGY IN RUSSIA. 



The western -winter monsoon is established as early as the end of 

 September 5 that is, in the time of the typhoons of the Southern China 

 seas. The navigators in the Sea of Ochotsk have long known the 

 periodicity of the winds in this region, of which they take advantage in 

 going in the summer from Kamtschatka to the western coast of this 

 sea, and returning in September or October, when the western winds 

 have fairly set in. 



The extremely unpleasant cold and damp summer climate of these 

 regions is caused by the prevailing east wind coming from the cold Sea 

 of Ochotsk, a true polar basin transfered to a lower latitude. The 

 yearly increase of temperature is also checked to a great degree by this 

 influence, the warmest month being generally August, when the sea- 

 water has acquired a higher temperature. 



The summer rains are very copious, even in places inland as far as 

 Pekiu. In this place, as also at the mines of Nertschiusk, the fall of 

 water is more than fifty times larger in July than in January. In the 

 last place there is hardly any sledging in winter, though the tempera- 

 ture remains six months below the freezing-point. The countries on the 

 Lower Amoor and Japan have more of snow and rain in autumn and 

 winter. The east winds from the adjoining sea are seldom experienced, 

 yet when they do occur the precipitation is copious, the difference of 

 temperature between land and sea being very great. We find a resem- 

 blance to this in the climate of Eastern North America, where the rain- 

 fall is more copious than in Europe ; yet the sky is clearer and the 

 number of rainy days less. 



PrccipUation in inches. 



I have said before that the monsoon climate is characterized by a gen- 

 erally clear winter and a rather cloudy summer. The amount of cloudi- 

 ness has only begun within the last few years to attract the attention of 

 scientific men. An extensive collection of tables of this element has 

 been commenced by Kamtz, and continued by Wild, who has published 

 the results in the new " Repertorium fiir Meteorology." They embrace 

 many places in Russia and in Siberia. I present here an extract from 

 these tables, in which the means of several places have been combined 

 together. The amount of cloudiness is expressed in percentage ; a cloud- 

 less sky taken as zero. 



