What will this winter be like? How will the climate change in the agricultural sector? Is it true that Ukraine lost all its weather stations during the war? The head of the Department of Applied Meteorology and Climatology of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Candidate of Geographical Sciences Vira Balabukh answered these and other questions in an interview with the YouTube channel "Govorít Sukhanov".
Assessing the temperature indicators expected during this and next winter, the scientist emphasized: "We see that over the past years, winters have become significantly warmer than they were 40-50 years ago. January, in particular, has become warmer, with its temperature rising by about 3 degrees. This year we expect it to be 2 degrees higher, so as a result, we will have a temperature of +5 degrees".
Regarding climate changes in Ukraine's agricultural sector, Vira Oleksiivna noted that climate change will benefit our country, as the changes currently occurring are very favorable. For example, the expected temperature rise in January will positively affect winter crops, which will find it easier to survive the winter, and their ripening will occur earlier.
The information that Ukraine lost all its weather stations after the start of the full-scale war is not true. The scientist emphasized that until 2014, there were 187 weather stations in Ukraine, some of which remained in occupied Crimea, and some were captured or destroyed in Donbas and other territories. Of course, some stations survived and are under Ukrainian control, but currently, such stations are not operational due to their proximity to the front line.