LOCATION AND CLIMATE

Location

Situated on the banks of the north-flowing Irtysh, at its confluence with the Om River, at an altitude of 87 metres (290 ft), and on both branches of the Trans-Siberian railway, 2,700 kilometres (1,700 mi) east of Moscow, it is the cross-junction of highways in the central part of Russian Federation. Passenger and freight boats along the Irtysh and the Ob Rivers provide connection from coal and mineral-mining towns in Kazakhstan, as well as oil, natural gas and lumber-rich northern Siberia. Scheduled and charter flights link Omsk Tsentralny Airport with multiple domestic and international (primarily, German) destinations, making it an important air gateway to Siberia and the Far East.

Climate

The climate is dry and continental, characterized by dramatic swings of weather. The average daily temperatures are, over the last thirty years, 20 °C (68 °F) in July and −19 °C (−2.2 °F) in January, although typical extremes reach 45 °C (113 °F) in the summer and −45 °C (−49 °F) in the winter. The average number of sunny days is over 300 per year. The annual rainfall is 315 millimetres (12.4 in).