Press releases

11 Jan 2021

Year 2020 ends as warmest year in Belarus in past 140 years

An archive photo

MINSK, 11 January (BelTA) – The year 2020 became the warmest year in Belarus over the past 140 years, Natalya Klevets, the head of the climate change research department of the meteorological and climate monitoring service of the National Center for Hydrometeorology, Radioactive Pollution Control and Environmental Monitoring at the Belarusian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, told a press conference on 11 January, BelTA has learned.

“The year 2020 was abnormally warm – the warmest in the history of meteorological observation in Belarus since 1881. The average annual temperature was +9.1°C, 2.4°C above the norm. The previous record-holder was the year 2019 with the average annual temperature of +8.8°C. This means that the two past years were the warmest in Belarus on record, Natalya Klevets said.

The winter of 2019-2020 was also abnormally warm. The average temperature came at +1.5°C, which was above the climatic norm by 5.5°C. This was the warmest winter in Belarus on record. The average monthly temperature exceeded the norm by 5.2°C in December, by 5.5°C in January, and by 5.9°C in February. The January of 2020 was also the warmest January in the history of meteorological observation in Belarus. The highest air temperature in the winter of 2019/2020 (+12.8°C) was registered in Drogichin on 18 December 2019, the lowest – at the observation station in Yezerishche on 8 February 2020.

The spring of 2020 was close to the climatic norm. The average air temperature in the spring was at +7.1°C. March was warm, 3.4°C above the norm. Belarus has such a warm March only once every 10-15 years. April was somewhat colder than usual (0.5°C below the norm) and May was rather cool (2.4°C below the norm). Previously, such a cool May was recorded in Belarus in 1999. The highest air temperature in the spring (+28.9°C) was recorded at the observation station in Zhitkovichi on 11 May. The lowest was registered in Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve on 4 March (-10.9°C).

The summer of 2020 was warm, with the average temperature of +18.8°C, 1.4°C above the norm. However, air temperature was not consistent throughout the summer. June was very warm (3.2°C above the norm), July stood close to the climatic norm, and August was also warmer than usual (1.3°C above the norm). Zhlobin saw the highest temperature in the summer of 2020 on 11June (+34.4°C) and Bobruisk – the lowest (+3.1°C) on 14 August.

The autumn of 2020 was the warmest autumn in Belarus on record. The average air temperature was +9.7°C, 3.1°C above the norm. The September of 2020 was the second warmest September in the history of meteorological observation, and the October of 2020 was the warmest October on record. In November, the average temperature exceeded the norm almost by 3°C. Belarus records such a warm November once every nine years.

In December, the average air temperature in Belarus was 2.5°C above the norm. Belarus witnessed such warm Decembers every 5 years on average since 1945, and every 2-3 years in the past 2 decades.

“For the second consecutive year, we recorded a shortfall in precipitation. The average annual precipitation in 2020 was 594mm, or 92% of the climatic norm. June was the wettest month (104mm, or 129% of the norm) and April was the driest (13mm, or 34% of the norm). The fastest wind speed registered in Belarus in 2020 was 27m/s. It was recorded at the observation station in Grodno on 14 March and at the gauging station Ulla on 11 June,” Natalya Klevets added.



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