On March 19, 2026, the leadership of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine paid a working visit to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
The President of the NAS of Ukraine, academician Anatoliy Zahorodniy, the first vice-president of the NAS of Ukraine, head of the Section of Physical-Technical and Mathematical Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Vyacheslav Bohdanov, acting chief scientific secretary of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Philosophy Oleh Kubalskyi, academician-secretary of the Earth Sciences Department of the NAS of Ukraine, academician Stella Shekhunova, scientific secretary of the Section of Physical-Technical and Mathematical Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Technical Sciences Serhiy Bespalov, and scientific secretary of the Department, candidate of geological and mineralogical sciences Yaroslav Lutsiv familiarized themselves with the work of the laboratories and communicated with the scientific teams.
The director, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Volodymyr Osadchyi, spoke about the results of the units' work – their topics cover the entire range of current environmental and climatic challenges facing Ukraine.
Sky and air: from weather forecasting to climate projections
A significant part of the Institute's research concerns the atmosphere – both in the short and long term. Specialists develop numerical models of cloud systems and precipitation forecasting, implement modern meteorological models, and study hazardous phenomena. The basis of operational work is their own supercomputer complex, which allows running complex mesoscale calculations and generating forecasts in real time.
At the same time, long-term climate work is underway: building projections for Ukraine, studying cyclogenesis and blocking processes, analyzing the causes of increased frequency of extreme events. The result has been electronic atlases of climate change and decision support systems – tools for assessing climate risks in various economic sectors.
A separate direction is air quality monitoring. This combines satellite and ground observations, automated systems for tracking the chemical composition of the atmosphere and the ozone layer. Developed air quality forecasting models are already integrated into the pan-European environmental monitoring system.
Water: from floods to river chemistry
The water sector is no less extensive. The Institute develops methods for forecasting floods and high waters, forms the regulatory framework for hydrological calculations, and implements basin information and forecasting systems. Separately, it studies how climate change transforms the water regime and seasonal runoff within the main river basins of Ukraine – for this, the "Climate & Water" web platform was created based on data from regional climate models.
Surface water quality is another priority. Long-term monitoring data have been accumulated here, models of chemical composition transformation of water bodies have been developed, and a modern laboratory base allows performing complex analytical measurements and modeling pollution processes. At the same time, work is underway on the implementation of EU directives: a methodology for assessing flood risks of river basins has been developed, threat maps for the Dniester and Horyn basins have been created, hydromorphological monitoring has been introduced, and a web system for assessing water quality by hydromorphological indicators has been established.
Radiation: from Chernobyl to international standards
The Institute is one of the leading centers of radioecological research in Ukraine. For decades, it has studied the consequences of the Chernobyl NPP accident, modeled radionuclide migration in natural ecosystems, and developed the national radiation monitoring system. High-precision spectrometric systems in the laboratory allow determining the content of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in environmental components. The Institute cooperates with the IAEA and participates in international quality control measurement programs.
Science working for the state
The participants of the meeting noted that the Institute's research has a clear applied focus – from operational forecasts to regulatory tools and European integration processes. The President of the NAS of Ukraine, academician Anatoliy Zahorodniy, emphasized that the combination of a powerful experimental base with modern information and computing technologies creates a reliable foundation for solving current tasks in hydrometeorology, environmental safety, and climate change adaptation.
Finally, further development directions were discussed – development of monitoring systems, improvement of forecasting technologies, and strengthening the role of science in decision-making at the state level.
According to information from the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute
Photo: Press Service of the NAS of Ukraine
