The winter is cold in Eastern Europe but the freezing temperatures are not slowing down Russia’s invasion into Ukraine.
The forecast is for the temperature at night to reach below freezing in the 20s over the interior parts of the country with lows in the 30s within Kyiv. Areas around the Black Sea near Yalta on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula will be a touch miler in the mid 30s.
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Russia has taken advantage of the cold and knows the freezing ground will provide a pathway for an attack.
At a Pentagon briefing at the end of January, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, said that when Ukraine’s “high water table” freezes, “it makes it for optimal conditions for cross-country tract and wheeled vehicle maneuver” for a Russian military advance.
The lack of heavy snow into February has further helped the Russian invasion.
January is the coldest time of the year in Ukraine when average temperatures reach 31 during the day and 22 at night. But the EU’s Earth Observation program shows that much of eastern Europe experienced well-above-average temperatures in January.
Ukraine saw temperatures between 1 to 3 degrees Celsius higher than normal, one of many changes that the climate crisis has brought this region.
Copernicus also notes that in January, “eastern Europe was predominantly wetter than average” and the soil in Ukraine was wetter than normal. The combination means less frost and more mud.