Contrasting June: first summer month in Tatarstan demonstrates abnormal heat and cold

From +17 to +21 degrees

The beginning of June in Tatarstan demonstrated high temperatures — thermometers recorded +20 degrees with the average of 16.6 degrees. And on some days the temperature reached +24 degrees, climatologist Timur Aukhadeyev told Realnoe Vremya.

“In this 10-day period, the average daily average is about +19.8 degrees, while in fact it only reaches +17 degrees. June turned out to be very contrasting for us. At the beginning it was tropically hot, and now it is quite cold,” he said.

June was distinguished not only by the contrasting temperature background, but also by the amount of precipitation:

“The month began with intense precipitation — 34 mm fell on 2 June alone. This, of course, is not a record, but close to it. Only the monthly precipitation norm is 57 mm, that is, more than 60% of the rain fell in a day.”

In 25 days of June, 76 mm of precipitation fell in Tatarstan — this is not a record, but nevertheless a lot, according to Aukhadeyev.

In addition, tornadoes were observed in Tatarstan this month:

“There is an opinion that tornadoes have not happened before and the current season is unprecedented. But this is not so. In the last decade, there have been more and more tornadoes in Russia due to global climate change. As a result: more thunderstorms and tornadoes.”

The cold will last at least until 4 July

As Irina Truschina, head of the weather forecasting department of the Tatarstan Hydrometeorological Center, told Realnoe Vremya, the weather in the republic will not change in the near future.

“Now the centre of the northwestern cyclone is located in the Saint Petersburg region and is gradually shifting to the Central region of Russia, and then to the Volga region. The last few days in Tatarstan the temperature was 3-4 degrees below normal, but today the air warmed up a little,” she said.

According to her, the air temperatures on 25 June were briefly close to normal — about 20 degrees on average. However, a cold front will soon arrive in the republic:

“Short-term rains are expected in the coming 24 hours, and we will be under the influence of this cyclone until the end of the week. Unstable weather, occasional rain and thunderstorms will persist. In the coming 24 hours, the wind during thunderstorms can accelerate to 15-20 meters per second. Hail is possible in some areas.”

Until 4 July, the air temperature will be 2 degrees below normal, Trushchina predicted.

Conditions are favourable, but we should be concerned about the hay

In general, the temperature and large amounts of precipitation in Tatarstan have a positive effect on the formation of the harvest, although with some nuances. This is what the Chairman of the association of farms Kamiyar Baitemirov told Realnoe Vremya.

“The weather is favourable, but because of the rains we do not meet some technical deadlines. For example, we cannot go in and cultivate clean fallows. This means that we will have to cultivate several times — this is an additional cost for farmers. In addition, due to the large amount of moisture, the plants can become mouldy,” he explained.

Nevertheless, with proper care, the plants will be healthy, Baitemirov assured. This depends solely on the farmers themselves.

Indeed, the hay is at risk. After mowing, the grass should lie outside for about two or three days, but due to the rains, it can lose its nutritional properties. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to correctly calculate the possibilities and, if necessary, stock up on silage.

“In principle, the situation is more positive than negative. The harvest still needs moisture. Even with hay, the situation is not critical. So far, everything is going well,” noted the chairman of the association.