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11.01.2021

Climate characteristic of December 2020

The air temperature for December 2020 on average in the republic was -0.8°C, which is 2.5°C higher than the climatic norm. December with the same and higher average monthly air temperature, since 1945, there has been an average of one once every 5 years, and in 20 years - once every 2-3 years.

Deviation of the average air temperature in December from the climatic norm on the territory of Belarus

The above zero air temperature anomaly spread throughout the territory of the republic, reaching the highest values in the Vitebsk region (on average in the region of 2.8°C), and the lowest in the Gomel region (on the average in the region of 2.2°C).

During the daytime, the air temperature was mainly within the range of -5 +5°С, on the warmest day it increased to +7°С and higher. The air temperature reached its maximum value (+ 9.4°С) on December 29 at Drogichin station.

Night air temperatures were predominantly negative, and in the coldest nights they dropped to -5 -10°C and below. The minimum value of the air temperature (-10.9°С) was recorded at the Yezerishche and Kostyukovichi stations on December 8.

The temperature regime was not uniform throughout the month. The average air temperature in the first decade was -0.5°C lower than the norm, and the air temperature in the second and third decades exceeded the norm by 3.1°С and 4.6°C, respectively. A stable transition of the average daily air temperature through 0°С towards a decrease in most of the country's territory took place in the last days of November - the first decade of December, 2-3 weeks later than usual, and in the extreme southwest on the last day of the month, the transition did not take place.

Average air temperature and climatic norm through the decades of December 2020 across the territory of Belarus

In general, 34.9 mm of precipitation or 78% of the December climatic norm fell in Belarus during the month. Precipitation spread unevenly throughout the country. Most precipitation was noted on the territory of Vitebsk and Minsk regions -40.3 mm (82% of the climatic norm) and 39.1 mm (85% of the climatic norm). The smallest amount of precipitation was observed in the Grodno and Brest regions -27.7 mm (58% of the climatic norm) and 28.8 mm (65% of the climatic norm), respectively.

Rainfall for December 2020 and climate norm by regions and across the territory of Belarus

Precipitation fell in the form of rain, snow and sleet. On the last day of the month, there was no snow cover on the territory of Grodno, Brest, Gomel and most of the Minsk regions, and on the rest of the country the snow cover height ranged from 0.1cm to 9cm. Fogs and ice phenomena were observed on some days of the month, which reached the criterion of a hazardous phenomenon at Orsha station on December 29 was heavy ice with a 20 mm diameter of the ice layer. During the month, on some days the wind increased in gusts up to 15 m/s and higher, and the maximum value of the wind speed (20 m/s) was recorded at Novogrudok station on December 29.