Сold weather lasted in Ukraine from 10th to 20th of July caused by cold atmospheric fronts from the west and north.
The average air temperature was 1-2 °C below normal and reached 16-19 °C, and 20-22 °C in the southern, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The maximum air temperature rose in the western and northern regions to 27-29 °C, in the southern, central and eastern up to 30-32 °C.
Precipitations with thunderstorms, squalls and hail were observed throughout the country for 2 days. The average regional amount did not exceed 10-57% of the norm. In the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Rivne, Volyn, Chernivtsi, Sumy, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya regions it was 67-129% of the ten-day norm.
Relative air humidity averaged from 55 to 79%.
In the central and southern regions, owing to a deficit of precipitation, the reserves of productive moisture in the soil under crops in most areas continued to decline, and areas with insufficient and unsatisfactory soil moistening under corn and sunflower increased. However, dry phenomena developed slowly. Since the beginning of summer, the greatest deficit of precipitation relative to the norm (from 30 to 70%) was observed in the Cherkasy, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions, where the amount of summer (June 1 -July 20) precipitation was one of the lowest in recent years. However, due to periodic cooling, the lack of long dry winds, frequent dews, the effect of dry phenomena did not cause significant damage to crops.
Harvesting of winter crops continued throughout the country. In some areas of the northern regions lodging of crops was observed due to heavy rains and hail. In spring barley and oats, there was complete ripeness. Panicles and cobs flowering continued in corn. Milky ripeness was noted on separate areas of the southern and central regions. The condition of the crops is mostly good. In some places in the southern regions there was damage to plants by agricultural pests, in the east – damage by diseases, in the Donetsk region – wilting of plants from drought.
During the ten-day period, baskets continued to form in sunflower, and ripening began in certain areas of the southern and central regions. The average diameter of baskets was from 10 to 20 cm. In some areas of the southern and eastern regions, yellowing of the leaves of the lower tier, damage to plants by agricultural pests, and daytime wilting of plants were noted.
The condition of winter crops in non-harvested areas is good and satisfactory.