Wintering conditions for winter crops in Ukraine were satisfactory in January

In January, Ukraine experienced predominantly winter weather with below-zero air temperatures. On most days, daily average temperatures were significantly below normal, and the average decadal air temperature in the second decade of January across almost the entire country was among the lowest recorded since 1961.

According to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, the monthly average regional air temperature across most of the country was 3–5 °C below normal, while in the southern and eastern regions, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk regions, and Transcarpathia, it was 1–2 °C below normal.

Throughout the month, the country received precipitation in the form of wet snow, snow, and rain, totaling 43–89 mm (equivalent to 1–2 monthly norms). Adverse weather phenomena included fog, icy conditions, and complex frost deposits.

During January, winter crops remained in a state of deep dormancy. Agrometeorological conditions for wintering were satisfactory. The minimum soil temperature at the tillering node depth (3 cm) for winter crops and perennial grasses dropped to −1…−6 °C, while in parts of the central regions, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and some northern areas, it fell to −7…−10 °C, which is above the critical freezing threshold.

Due to temperature fluctuations and rainfall, a thin layer of frozen ice crust 3–14 mm thick formed in some fields of the southern, central, and Kharkiv regions.

Snow cover during January ranged from 1 to 45 cm across most of the country. As of January 31, in the western and northern regions, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, most areas of Kharkiv, and some parts of Kirovohrad and Poltava regions, snow depth ranged from 6 to 34 cm. On other areas, snow was absent or did not exceed 1–5 cm.

By the end of the month, soil freezing depth across most of the country was 11–48 cm, while in some northern, Cherkasy, and Poltava areas it reached 50–64 cm. In some parts of western, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, soil freezing did not exceed 10 cm. As of January 31, thawing to a depth of 1–12 cm was observed in some southern, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv areas.

Tags: Ukraine, crop condition