Ukraine's average temperature rises to record in 2020

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's average annual air temperature in 2020 exceeded the average long-term level by 2.2 degrees Celsius and reached a record high 10.7 degrees, Ukrainian state-run weather forecasting body said on Tuesday.

Previously, only in 2007, 2015 and 2019, did the average annual temperature exceed 10 degrees, it said in a report.

Forecasters said average annual rainfall in Ukraine was 8% lower than the norm and the lowest levels were registered in eastern Donetsk, Luhansk and Mykolayiv regions.

Ukraine is a traditional grower of grains and the harvest greatly depends on the weather conditions. Ukraine accounted for about 16% of global grain exports in the 2019/20 season.

The warming in the last decade has significantly expanded the area under heat-loving corn, but has reduced grain sowing in the south where a moisture deficit has been recorded.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; editing by David Evans)