Ukraine

UKRAINE IS A republic in east Europe, part of the former Soviet Union. Its capital and largest city is Kiev (50 degrees 27 minutes N, 30 degrees 30 minutes E, population of 2.6 million in 2007, estimation by the Department of Ukrainian State Statistics). The total area of Ukraine is 233,090 sq. mi. (or 603,700 sq. km., the 44th country in size and second in Europe after European Russia). The total population is around 46.6 billion (in 2007, estimation by the Department of Ukrainian State Statistics). The word Ukraine originally meant “near the border” (of Russia and Poland).

The country has a mostly temperate continental climate, though a more Mediterranean climate is found on the southern Crimean coast. Precipitation is disproportionately distributed, being highest in the west and north (up to 31–39 in., or 800–1,000 mm. per year) and lesser in the east and southeast (around 16–18 in., or 400–450 mm. per year). Winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland. Summers are warm across the greater part of the country but are generally hot in the south. The average temperature in January is 18–19 degrees F (minus 7 to minus 8 degrees C) in the northern Ukraine, while it is 37–39 degrees F (3–4 degrees C) in the southern Crimea. The absolute January minimum/maximum temperature minus 43 degrees F to 67 degrees F (minus 42 degrees C to 19.5 degrees C) was observed in the northeast/Crimea. January precipitations vary from 1–2.5 in. (35–65 mm.) per month. The average temperature in July is around 64–75 degrees F (18–24 degrees C). The absolute July maximum/minimum temperature 106/36 degrees F (41.0/2.4 degrees C) was observed in the northeast. July precipitations vary from 1–7 in. (30–185 mm.) per month.

The linear temperature trend varies from around 1.8–3.6 degrees F (1–2 degrees C) per 100 years for the northern Ukraine in winter/spring to 30 degrees F (minus 1 degree C) per 100 years for the southern Ukraine in summer/fall. The linear trend of precipitation varies from around 4 in. (100 mm.) a year per 100 years for drier regions to minus 4 in. (100 mm.) a year per 100 years for wetter regions. So, the continental climate of Ukraine is becoming more mild. The interannular climate variability of Ukraine (especially its northern part) is under the strong control of the North Atlantic Oscillation.

The Ukrainian landscape consists mostly of fertile plains, or steppes, and plateaus, crossed by rivers such as the Dnieper, Seversky Donets, Dniester, and Southern Buh as they flow south into the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. To the southwest, the delta of the Danube forms the nations border with Romania. The Danube is the largest European river, [Page 995]which rises in the Alpine region. Its average discharge from 1947–2001 was about 6,350 eu. m. per second. The maximum/minimum discharge (9,180/4,420 cu. m. per second) is observed in May/October. There is a positive linear trend of mean annual Danube discharge, which is about 200 eu. m. per second per 50 years. The country's only mountains are the Carpathian Mountains in the west, of which the highest is Mount Hoverla at 6,762 ft. (2,061 m.), and those in the Crimean peninsula in the extreme south, along the Black Sea coast.

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