"Hellish" summer of 2024: climatologists told what Ukrainians should prepare for.

After an almost rainy, almost snow-free winter and the same spring, a hot summer will come to Ukraine.

The past year 2023 was the warmest on the planet in the history of weather observations. Probably, it will be the turn of even hotter years. Ukraine will not be an exception. According to the forecasts of climatologists, winters in Ukraine will become shorter and milder, and summers will be longer and hotter, writes RBC-Ukraine.

This forecast, in particular, was shared by Vira Balabukh, Candidate of Geographical Sciences, Head of the Department of Applied Meteorology and Climatology of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the State Emergency Service and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

What happens to the seasons in Ukraine

In Ukraine, the average annual temperature is rising faster than on the planet as a whole. This is due to our continental location. So, according to the observations of scientists, since 1981, the duration of the warm period and the growing season has increased by 7-8 days every decade.

"The number of summer days with an average daily air temperature above 15 degrees is increasing by an average of 8 days every 10 years. Such changes have led to a significant increase in the summer period in Ukraine. Last year, in September, we observed air temperatures characteristic of June-July," says the climatologist.

At the same time, such climate change leads to an increase in the frequency of natural phenomena: heavy rains, squalls, hail, droughts and heat waves. But at the same time, scientists note a decrease in wind speed in general in temperate latitudes, including Ukraine. This reduces phenomena such as blizzards and dust storms.

In 20 years, seasonal differences in Ukraine will be smoothed out even more

Based on the intensity of temperature rise, in 20 years the climate in Ukraine will be significantly different from the current one. In winter, you won't be able to ask for snow, winters will become even shorter and milder. And the summer will be longer and hotter.

"In the next 20 years, the duration of summer in the vast majority of the territory of Ukraine may increase by a week, according to another scenario - by two weeks compared to the beginning of the century. In the middle of the century, summer can last two to three weeks longer and almost a month according to a different scenario," the scientist shared.

Climatologists are unanimous on the issue of shortening winters and increasing the length of summer. However, opinions differed in numbers. According to one, more benign, forecast, the duration of summer at the end of the 21st century will be about the same as in the middle, that is, 2-3 weeks longer than now. According to another scenario, the duration of the summer period by the end of the century will increase by a month or even two compared to today's time.

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