My name is Amara Yumah Ibanez. I live in Oymyakon, Russia and am a 35-year-old recently divorced single mother, who supports herself through Agricultural farming which includes harvesting crops and maintaining livestock. I also have 5 beautiful young children; two boys, aged 2 & 7 and three girls, 9, 5 & 12. Unfortunately, a year ago my husband and I divorced, this eventually lead to leaving my home in California, USA and forced me to restart my entire life. Yes, I know you all may be thinking about how these two places are nothing alike and everything different –this was definitely my first reaction as well, it’s not easy shifting in climate and it certainly isn’t easy for an agricultural farmer.

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Now that you have gotten to know a little about me, let’s talk about Russian climate and it’s effect on agricultural farming and workers, like me.

Climate surrounding the Oymyakon area is typically very cold. Our warmest temperature’s peak in July increasing to a 55.58 °F including plenty of precipitation as well, usually as much as 52 mm of rainfall. However, temperatures in January are terribly cold, dropping as low as -50.26 °F. Just take a look below at how these temperatures can range into the most extreme. It is even said that Oymyakon is of the coldest permanently inhabited locales on Earth. We’ve managed to learn how to properly bundle up and prepare for these harsh winters, we had never witnessed snow, let alone how a snowflake even looks like and now we get to see the entire city freeze under all this snow!

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It has been quite a wonderful, yet, crazy journey living in Oymyakon. Residing here does have its downfalls, for example, agricultural work is not easy. Climate and geography shrink Russia’s agricultural abilities down to about 10 percent of the country’s total land area. Grains make up 50% of the crops in farming demand, legumes follow with potatoes closely tied into the demanding race. Our weather does not allow proper vegetation growth of fruits and delicious dark green vegetables. Livestock production is very poor here as well. The climate makes it difficult for livestock to properly strive, many farmers have even reduced their holdings on animals as it became impossible to maintain them and demands on grain skyrocketed. Meat availability has become so scarce that prices increased which have lead to individuals purchasing more wheat, barley, sunflower seed, oats, potatoes and rye than anything, declining livestock production. Agriculture is a minor role in the Russian economy and as a previous harvesting and livestock farmer, this isn’t exactly good news, a majority of our food when bought, is always frozen by nature, herself!

Although I, myself have yet to become a huge fan of Oymyakon’s stubborn temperatures, global warming’s changes and its effects in Oymyakon and all of Russia’s Siberia can be deadly for us all. The Siberian Times reported that “Satellites have been tracking sea ice changes since 1978. In September 2012 sea ice reached its absolute minimum of 3.2 million square kilometers, which is more than twice lower than the 1979-2000 average of 7.0 million square kilometers. . . increase in the temperature will make winters in Siberia more comfortable, and lead to lower energy costs, it could be detrimental to the environment and human health.” (4)

Russia’s temperatures are increasingly becoming warmer and that’s not necessarily a good thing.

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So, what does this mean for us? It means ocean levels will rise with possible increases in floods, tsunamis, and hurricanes due to the increase of humid temperatures. Room for brand new diseases will become available. Animals would be unable to access their food resources resulting in our wildlife disappearing and the food chains disrupted, leading to hunger and starvation for many of us. Intense rainfall will make river swells and mudflow torrents much more likely, leading to the destruction of coastal infrastructure.

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We are seeing this happen before our very own eyes and choosing to ignore the warning signs. Farmers, like myself, have felt the repercussions of our actions on our beloved mother earth. We must do our personal best to limit the effects of increased greenhouse gases. Limit your littering and recycling. And instead of taking three separate cars as a family, carpool! Climate change will affect all of us.

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Works Cited

1. Data Climate. August 09, 2015. Accessed March 26, 2019. https://en.climate-data.org/asia/russian-federation/sakha-republic/oymyakon-30667/
2. Climate Prevention, Center For. “Climate Change in Russia.” Climatechangepost.com. Accessed March 26, 2019. https://www.climatechangepost.com/russia/climate-change/.
3. Lakritz, Talia. “Amazing Pictures from the Coldest Inhabited Town on Earth.” INSIDER. January 17, 2018. Accessed March 26, 2019. https://www.thisisinsider.com/coldest-town-on-earth-oymyakon-photos-2018-1.
4. Global Warming Could Happen Quicker in Russia’s Coldest Region. RSS. February 24, 2015. Accessed March 26, 2019. https://siberiantimes.com/ecology/casestudy/features/f0065-global-warming-could-happen-quicker-in-russias-coldest-region/.
5. Russia – Agriculture. Accessed March 26, 2019. http://countrystudies.us/russia/60.htm.