ABSTRACTContinuous pollen and chironomid records from Lake Emanda (65°17′N, 135°45′E) provide new insights into the Late Quaternary environmental history of the Yana Highlands (Yakutia). Larch forest with shrubs (alders, pines, birches) dominated during the deposition of the lowermost sediments suggesting its Early Weichselian [Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5] age. Pollen‐ and chironomid‐based climate reconstructions suggest July temperatures (TJuly) slightly lower than modern. Gradually increasing amounts of herb pollen and cold stenotherm chironomid head capsules reflect cooler and drier environments, probably during the termination of MIS 5. TJuly dropped to 8 °C. Mostly treeless vegetation is reconstructed during MIS 3. Tundra and steppe communities dominated during MIS 2. Shrubs became common after ~14.5 ka bp but herb‐dominated habitats remained until the onset of the Holocene. Larch forests with shrub alder and dwarf birch dominated after the Holocene onset, ca. 11.7 ka bp. Decreasing amounts of shrub pollen during the Lateglacial are assigned to the Older Dryas and Younger Dryas with TJuly ~ 7.5 °C. TJuly increased up to 13 °C. Shrub stone pine was present after ~7.5 ka bp. The vegetation has been similar to modern since ca. 5.8 ka bp. Chironomid diversity and concentration in the sediments increased towards the present day, indicating the development of richer hydrobiological communities in response to the Holocene thermal maximum.