How Russia is updating Soviet environmental monitoring

Still struggling with both extensive pollution and a patchy monitoring network, the Russian Federation is trying to forge a new path.

By Jed Thomas 

Russia is a sprawling and varied country – not just geographically, but politically and environmentally.  

Its vast territory includes pristine wilderness, aging industrial cities, and an Arctic frontier increasingly vulnerable to climate change.  

For environmental professionals and instrument users, Russia presents a complex terrain.  

It has a legacy of Soviet-era environmental damage, a national monitoring infrastructure that is both vast and patchy, and a political system that often limits transparency. 

Yet today, Russia is also seeing growing attention to environmental data—driven by public concern, digital innovation, and climate-related risk.  

From permafrost monitoring to snowpack pollution analysis, a new generation of instruments, models, and satellite tools is emerging, even as many traditional monitoring systems face stagnation. 

From outdated equipment to data gaps 

The Russian Federation inherited an expansive environmental monitoring system from the Soviet Union.  

Roshydromet, the federal meteorological and environmental monitoring agency, operates hundreds of air and water quality stations, radiation detectors, and climate observatories.  

But decades of underfunding have taken their toll. 

What does environmental monitoring in Russia look like? 

While Moscow maintains a relatively dense and modern air quality monitoring network, many other cities rely on legacy Soviet systems—or have no functioning stations at all. In fact, about 12 of Russia’s 85 regions report no routine air quality data.  

Coverage outside urban centres is minimal, and data sharing is inconsistent, with some pollution levels still considered classified or politically sensitive. 

Russia faces severe water contamination in many regions. Over 75% of surface water is polluted to some extent, and only 8% of wastewater receives full treatment before discharge.  

Monitoring tends to focus on large rivers, reservoirs, and coastal zones, but smaller waterways and groundwater are rarely tested at sufficient frequency or resolution. 

Industrial sites often lack real-time effluent monitoring, and enforcement is weak. 

Russia’s industrial and military past has left hundreds of polluted sites—many of them poorly mapped or monitored.  

Areas like Dzerzhinsk, Norilsk, and Chelyabinsk are infamous for toxic soil and groundwater.  

While some testing occurs through regional labs, Russia lacks a unified system for soil pollution monitoring.  

Agricultural land is assessed for fertility, but not routinely for contaminants like heavy metals or persistent organic pollutants. 

With extensive Arctic and Pacific coastlines, Russia faces growing pressure to monitor ocean health, fisheries, oil spill risks, and permafrost degradation.  

Yet its marine monitoring capacity remains fragmented. Many monitoring efforts are reactive—triggered by disasters like the 2020 Norilsk diesel spill, rather than based on continuous surveillance. 

Russian institutions seek innovative ways to monitor 

Despite the gaps, Russia is not without innovation. New tools and approaches are emerging, often at the intersection of necessity and ingenuity 

In regions where conventional air monitors are absent, scientists are using snow chemistry analysis to estimate pollutant deposition.  

Snow acts as a natural sampler, absorbing particulates and gases from the atmosphere.  

By measuring heavy metals and acid compounds in snow layers, researchers can create proxy air pollution maps in remote or under-monitored regions. 

Russia has its own Earth observation satellites (e.g. Resurs-P, Meteor-M) and increasingly uses ESA’s Sentinel data to track forest loss, wildfire smoke, oil spills, and even thermal hotspots.  

Satellite tools are essential in the Arctic and Siberia, where physical access is difficult. 

Monitoring permafrost melt and ground deformation is becoming a national priority, with new satellites being developed for this purpose. 

As warming accelerates in the Russian Arctic, permafrost monitoring has become critical.  

Companies like Norilsk Nickel are deploying ground temperature sensors and tilt meters beneath fuel tanks and buildings to detect thaw-induced subsidence.  

This is part of an effort to prevent repeat disasters like the Norilsk spill, which released 20,000 tonnes of diesel after a storage tank collapsed. 

Russia has begun requiring certain large industrial emitters to install continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS), measuring pollutants such as SO₂, NOx, and particulates.  

These systems are linked to local regulators and may soon feed into national databases, though verification and enforcement mechanisms remain under development. 

How does Russia govern its environmental monitoring? 

Russia’s environmental monitoring is overseen primarily by Roshydromet and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. While technically well-staffed, these agencies often struggle with outdated equipment and limited autonomy. 

Air and water monitoring data is not always made public. Some datasets, particularly near sensitive industrial or military sites, remain classified.  

Where data is shared, it's often aggregated or delayed—making it less useful for timely decision-making or public engagement. 

Russia has relatively strong environmental laws on paper, but enforcement is inconsistent and underfunded.  

Even when monitoring data reveals violations (e.g. high phenol or heavy metal levels), polluters may face minimal consequences. 

There is a growing trend toward independent monitoring. NGOs, universities, and citizen science groups have begun deploying portable sensors for air, water, and radiation—especially in places where trust in official data is low.  

In cities like St. Petersburg, local communities now share air quality data via open platforms and social media, echoing similar grassroots trends globally. 

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What is the future of environmental monitoring in Russia? 

Russia’s environmental monitoring system stands at a crossroads. Climate change, pollution crises, and international scrutiny are creating new demands for transparency and modernization. 

Many Soviet-era stations need to be replaced or digitized. Investments in automation, remote telemetry, and real-time data acquisition are underway in select regions—but require sustained funding and political will. 

Russia’s Arctic and forested regions will increasingly rely on a hybrid model—combining satellite remote sensing with limited but strategic ground stations.  

These may include permafrost monitoring networks, wildfire sensors, and hydrological gauges. 

While Russia has historically treated environmental data as a national security concern, there are signs of a shift.  

The launch of a national carbon registry and new GHG reporting laws may encourage broader data transparency and compatibility with global standards. 

Citizen scientists, academic researchers, and even private industry are filling gaps in the monitoring network.  

Their growing role could democratize environmental data, especially as portable and low-cost instruments become more widespread. 

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