Climate Change Overview

Country Summary

This page presents high-level information for Ukraine's climate zones and its seasonal cycle for mean temperature and precipitation for the latest climatology, 1991-2020. Climate zone classifications are derived from the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, which divides climates into five main climate groups divided based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The five main groups are A (tropical), B (dry), C (temperate), D (continental), and E (polar). All climates except for those in the E group are assigned a seasonal precipitation sub-group (second letter).  Climate classifications are identified by hovering your mouse over the legend. A narrative overview of Ukraine's country context and climate is provided following the visualizations.

Ukraine is a lower middle incomed country in Eastern Europe, sharing boarders with Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungry, Romania, and Moldova. The country also has a coastline along the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Ukraine has a total land area of more than 600,000 km2, with a largely flat topography except for the Crimean Mountains in the south and Carpathian Mountains in the West. The country is dominated by the Dnieper River which stretches north to south through the center of the country for over 2,200 km. Ukraine has an extensive network of rivers, more than 73 thousand, most of which are transboundary. Ukraine has a population of 44.1 million (2020) people, but has experienced negative population growth since 2000. The economy is dominated by industry (including mining, construction, electricity, water and gas) and agriculture sectors.

Ukraine is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change from increase in temperature and increasingly variable precipitation patterns with an expected decrease for some areas of the country.