Weather in Ukraine will undergo noticeable changes in the coming days. Relatively calm conditions will be replaced by a powerful heatwave caused by the arrival of a scorching air mass from Western Europe. Ukrainians should already be preparing for extreme temperatures expected in early August.
This was stated by Natalia Ptukha, Head of the Media Relations Department of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, in an interview for RBC-Ukraine.
July 31: The beginning of the warming
July 31 will be the last day of July to delight residents of the country with relatively calm weather. The main factor determining the weather will be an anticyclone — an area of high atmospheric pressure. At the same time, warm air will begin to spread from Western Europe, which will still be held back somewhat at night.
However, during the day, under mostly clear skies, the air will heat up quickly. Across Ukraine, temperatures will rise to +24...+30°C. In the foreseeable future, this day will remain the last one when temperatures stay at levels up to +30°C.
Strong heat in the west: forecast for August 1–2
Subsequently, meteorologists forecast more noticeable temperature increases. The influx of scorching air mass will continue, leading to the appearance of strong heat in certain regions. According to the classification, strong heat begins at +35°C.
Already on August 1, such weather may set in during the daytime in the western regions of Ukraine. On August 2, the situation will persist: strong heat will concentrate primarily in the western part of the country. Over the next three days, temperatures in these regions will reach +35...+37°C.
Tropical nights and lack of precipitation
The temperature rise will affect not only daytime but also nighttime hours. At night, the air will warm up to +15...+20°C. Meteorologists remind us that a "tropical" night occurs when the temperature does not drop below +20°C. For now, in some places it may be slightly lower, but in the west, indicators will already be approaching this threshold. This means that there will be no significant freshness felt during the night hours.
No precipitation is expected over the weekend. Cloud cover will be almost completely absent, and the weather will predominantly be clear.
Expansion of the heat zone: August 3–4
At the beginning of the next work week, on August 3 and 4, hot and dry weather will persist. However, in the northwestern regions (August 3) and the northeastern part of the country (August 4), certain atmospheric instability is possible. This could lead to the development of cumulonimbus clouds, local short-term rains, and thunderstorms. However, these phenomena will not be of a global nature; they will remain localized.
At the same time, in the western and southern regions, and locally across the rest of Ukraine, indicators of strong heat (+35°C and above) will be observed. From August 3–4, the southern regions will join the western ones. It is there that the probability of strong heat being established at most weather stations will be highest. There are prerequisites in almost all regions of Ukraine for temperatures to locally rise to critical values.
Outlook for the first decade of August
Preliminary assessments by specialists indicate that the first decade of August will be predominantly hot. Temperatures will fluctuate but will remain around +30°C on average. The weather will be influenced by a field of high atmospheric pressure, so the temperature background will not undergo significant changes.
Certain prerequisites for a change in the situation may only arise at the end of the first decade, after August 8. After August 5, individual atmospheric fronts may pass through the western and southern regions, which could lead to precipitation in the future, although exact details will become known closer to these dates.
As for record values, they must be considered for each specific weather station. However, meteorologists state with certainty: current indicators will be higher than the climate norm. Ukraine faces a hot start to August, and residents should take this factor into account in their plans.
