Reducing the meteorological winter period, the tendency to increase air temperature and the absence of snowfall in winter can lead to a decrease in groundwater and river levels. In Ukraine, the southern steppe is most vulnerable to drought, in particular the areas of the Odessa, Kherson and Nikolaev regions.
On trends of climate change URSA. Media was told by the head of the Department of Applied Meteorology and Climatology of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the State Emergencies Service and NAS of Ukraine Vera Balabukh. She pointed out that earlier the average daily temperature lasted a few months below zero. Now the real winter in our country lasts only a few weeks.
The weather is still different in the highlands of the Carpathians and in the south of Ukraine. But all regions are characterized by one general trend - winter is becoming much warmer.
Snow cover is most often unstable and does not persist for a long period. This is most noticeable in the south, in the center and even in the north of the country. By the way, there is a trend of unstable snow cover not only in Ukraine. It is characteristic of the whole of Europe, the Northern Hemisphere and our planet as a whole.
The reason is a global increase in temperature. "
Firstly, a decrease in the amount of precipitation, accompanied by an intensive increase in temperature, leads to an increase in arid. This is bad for agriculture, especially after the loss of the Kakhovsky reservoir, which gave additional moisture and the possibilities for irrigation.
Secondly, low-snow winters affect the tourist industry, ski recreation..
Thirdly, this can change the balance in agriculture. "
At the same time, according to her, the lack of snow in severe frosts can cause serious damage to agricultural crops. It all depends on the combination of climatic indicators and vulnerability of plants.
“Even in Kyiv we see how trees bloom in the middle of winter, but the air temperature per day can decrease by 10 degrees or more, which can cause great harm to them,” she said.
In addition, snow is a source of water for river pools and groundwater.
" It affects the level of groundwater, ”the expert explained.
Another consequence of the lack of snow cover is fires.
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This is especially important now, when Ukraine is regularly subjected to drone and missile fire, which can provoke fire.
For 9 months of 2024, the number of fires in natural ecosystems increased in Ukraine by about 2.2 times, compared with 2023.
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