An abnormally warm winter of 2025 will not remain without consequences for the environment, although the impact of this temperature anomaly on summer weather will not be as significant as they are often suggested. Vera Balabukh, Head of the Department of Applied Meteorology and Climatology of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the SES, in an interview with Channel 24, denied the widespread opinion that the warm winter could be a prerequisite for the hot summer. She explained that winter temperature has no direct connection with summer heat because they depend on different climatic processes.
However, warm winter has other serious consequences, in particular for water and vegetation. The lack of snow and low rainfall can lead to a decrease in groundwater, which in turn creates a risk of water shortages in summer. This is especially important for agrarians and for providing the population with drinking water in hot months. In addition, insufficient snow in winter can cause hydrological drought - a phenomenon when water resources in rivers and lakes are significantly reduced. Climate changes also cause surprise in the form of unexpected weather phenomena. Winter is increasingly reminiscent of early spring, and abnormal temperatures can harm plants that have already begun to develop. However, the expert emphasizes that even in the case of further colds that may occur as a result of fluctuations in climatic conditions, these changes are unlikely to affect the overall structure of summer weather.
Thus, despite the influence of global warming on natural processes, an abnormally warm winter will not be a direct prerequisite for raising summer temperatures, but its consequences can be noticeable in many other aspects, in particular in water supply.
