Weather in Ukraine favors harvesting but hampers winter crop sowing as drought deepens — agrometeorologists

During the first ten days of September, soil moisture reserves in Ukraine hardly improved due to the lack of effective rainfall, according to a report by the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center.

Agrometeorologists noted that soils in areas designated for sowing winter crops for the 2026 harvest remained poorly moisturized, while in many districts of the southern and central regions, they were dry. Soil drought was deepening and spreading, creating unfavourable conditions for field preparation and the emergence of winter rapeseed sown in August and early September.

Soil temperatures at a depth of 10 cm remained unusually high for this time of year, ranging from +20°C to +26°C. In most regions, winds exceeding 5 m/s caused light dry winds.

Local thunderstorms in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions partially improved sowing conditions, but after a prolonged dry summer, moisture deficits there remain critical.

In northern and western regions, the situation was somewhat better, with generally satisfactory agrometeorological conditions, though precipitation shortages persisted. Soil moisture replenishment occurred only locally, where heavy rains improved the topsoil condition.

Meanwhile, weather conditions were favourable for harvesting late and industrial crops: sunflower and corn reached harvesting ripeness, while fruits and root crops were actively accumulating sugars.