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We give an overview of the history of the ice cover studies in Lake Baikal and a detailed description of the temporal and spatial variability of Lake Baikal ice conditions based on satellite and historical data. We analyze the long‐term evolution of ice conditions using historical data and recent observations from satellite altimetry and radiometry for 1992–2004 for northern, middle, and southern Baikal. These data show a recent (since the 1990s) tendency for colder winters, with earlier ice formation, later ice break‐up, and ice duration increase. These observations are in agreement with the long‐period cycles of air temperature variability (warming between the 1970s and 1990s, with a cooling phase afterwards). We then compare air temperature data from meteorological stations to ERA‐40 reanalysis and suggest that ERA‐40 data can be used to assess seasonal and interannual changes of air temperature for Lake …