Throughout December, Ukraine experienced abnormally warm weather for the winter season. Average monthly air temperatures across all regions exceeded long-term climate norms by 2.2–3.5°C, ranging from –0.3°C in the northeast to +3.5°C in western regions, ProAgro Group reports.

According to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, weather conditions during the month were shaped by atmospheric fronts that brought precipitation in the form of snow, sleet, rain, and drizzle. In the first half of December, winter crops were mostly in a state of shallow dormancy. However, during periods when daytime temperatures rose to +7–15°C, slow vegetation activity was observed in some areas. In southern regions, as well as in Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Volyn oblasts, changes in crop growth stages were recorded locally.

A stable transition of average daily air temperatures below 0°C occurred between December 13 and 26, which was one to three weeks later than the long-term average and marked the onset of true winter conditions.

By the end of the month, snow cover across most of Ukraine ranged from 6 to 20 cm, reaching up to 30 cm in the Carpathian highlands. In southern and western regions and in Vinnytsia oblast, snow depth generally did not exceed 1–5 cm. Soil freezing depth by the end of December was mostly 1–10 cm, occasionally reaching 11–20 cm, and up to 29 cm in some areas of Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, and Rivne regions.

Minimum soil temperatures at the tillering node depth of winter crops dropped to –3 to –9°C, remaining well above critical frost-damage thresholds. Under these conditions, no threats to the overwintering of winter crops or fruit plantations were recorded in December.

Earlier reports noted that December warming triggered renewed vegetation of winter crops across large parts of Ukraine, allowing plants in some areas to advance to new growth stages.