Voronezh sits on the Voronezh River in the black-earth region of southwestern European Russia, on the flat forest-steppe at approximately 51.67°N, 39.21°E. Its inland, southerly position gives it a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — with warm summers and cold winters — milder than northern Russia, on the edge of the fertile steppe.

Summer, from June to August, is warm to hot, with July the warmest month — average highs around 26–27°C — and heatwaves that can exceed 35°C, sometimes driven by hot, dry steppe winds. Thunderstorms bring most of the year's rain, though summer drought is a recurring risk for the region's famous black-earth farmland.

Winter, from December to February, is cold and grey, with January and February the coldest — average highs around -4°C and lows near -10°C, with cold snaps below -25°C. Snow falls and lies for two to three months, though thaws are more frequent than further north, and the season is shorter than in central Russia.

Voronezh receives around 550–600 mm of precipitation a year, with a clear early-summer maximum from thunderstorms and a drier late summer; the fertile black-earth belt depends on these summer rains, and drought is a periodic threat. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Voronezh lies at the heart of Russia's chernozem, or black-earth, belt — some of the most fertile soil on earth, whose productivity hinges entirely on the reliability of the early-summer thunderstorms. When those rains fail and the hot steppe winds blow, drought can devastate the harvest.

To follow any single measurement in Voronezh more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.