Kyiv hottest since 1885
This year the flame tongues of the Azores anticyclone, originated in Northern
Africa, have reached Ukraine. While on July 7 outside temperature in Kyiv
closely approached the all-time high of +34.2 degrees C recorded in 1885,
weathermen expected a new record on July 8-9.
As always, torrid July abounds in thunderstorms, downpours, hailstorms,
and gusts of wind. Last Wednesday, the East Carpathians saw a 89 mm. of
precipitation in as little as three hours, which was three times that day's
maximum precipitation all over Ukraine. In Drohobych, the gusts of wind
reached 25 meters/sec. In four districts of Lviv oblast, 148 populated
areas had electricity cut off.
Someone dubbed the heat wave "a blast furnace called summer." Excessive
sun exacerbates ailments and promote the growth of skin cancer. Every year
about 35,000 people contract the skin and breast cancer, The Day's
Oleksandr FANDEYEV reports. Doctors advise to take a cancer test
before dipping into sweet solar and aquatic languor.
As Halyna Leliukh, a consulting physician at Kyiv's Zdorovia information
service, affirms, there is also high risk of sunstroke on the street or
heatstroke indoors. Especially at midday. The symptoms are high fever,
blood pressure, and sometimes vomiting. One must seek salvation in a headgear
and light clothes that breath.
Even sea fish cannot withstand such terrible heat. Last Thursday, there
was a mass fishkill all along Berdiansk Spit, unconnected with any waste
discharge. The oxygen content of the sea water dropped sharply - by 3-3.5
times. On July 7-8, the water and air temperatures exceeded 30 and 35 degrees,
respectively.
Eyewitnesses say, The Day's Viktor PUZHAICHEREDA reports,
that a huge mass of bullheads and smelts beached themselves and died in
a dead calm.
Another result of this weather is fire. According to Interfax-Ukraine,
31 hectares of peat bogs are on fire in Starovyzhivsky district, Volyn
oblast.
And according to the Ministry of Emergencies, the desire to find shelter
from the heat in water has resulted in the drowning of 61 people in Ukraine
since the beginning of July.







