Assessing the Influence of Height above Sea Level and Geographic Coordinates on Surface Air Temperature Values for a Plain Part of Ukraine

Abstract

Summary The main principles of the methodology for assessing the influence of height above sea level and geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) on the values of annual and average monthly temperature in Ukraine for the period 1991–2020 are proposed. Thus, the annual surface air temperature decreases by an average: of 0.69°C per 100 m of height above sea level, of 0.51°C with a shift of one degree of latitude to the north, and of 0.08°C with a shift of one degree of longitude to the East. The altitudinal and latitudinal gradients of temperature have the greatest spatiotemporal variability and the longitudinal gradient has the smallest one. These gradients generate «microclimatic noise» of temperature. On their basis, a regional semi-empirical model of the spatiotemporal distribution of the average monthly temperature for the plain part of Ukraine for the period 1991–2020 was worked out. A comparison of values of model average annual and monthly temperature for 58 meteostations in Ukraine with their actual values showed a statistically significant correlation. Additionally, validation of semi-empirical model average monthly temperature for 10 other stations was carried out.