Winter Anomalies Research Articles

Combined Impacts of Autumn Snow Cover on the Tibetan Plateau and Northeast Asia on the Winter Eurasian Temperature

ABSTRACTThis study explores the combined effects of autumn snow cover anomalies on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and Northeast Asia (NEA) on winter Eurasian temperature using observational data for the period 1972–2021 and a linear baroclinic model (LBM). Distinctive wintertime temperature patterns are found across the Eurasian continent corresponding to increased autumn snow cover in NEA when TP experiences normal, above‐normal, or below‐normal snow cover condition. In the scenario with an anomalous increase in autumn snow cover in NEA in combination with normal snow cover condition in TP, the overall winter temperature anomalies tend to be generally weak across the Eurasian continent. In years when autumn TP snow cover is above normal, the spatial distribution of winter temperature anomalies over the Eurasian continent associated with more NEA snow cover exhibits a ‘cold Arctic‐warm Eurasia’ (CAWE) pattern. The emergence of this CAWE pattern can be attributed to the low‐pressure system induced by the intensified NEA snow cover, which is further reinforced by the atmospheric wave train generated by negative North Atlantic sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in winter. This low‐pressure system amplifies the polar vortex and causes cooling in polar regions. Simultaneously, southeasterly winds along the southwestern flank of the North Pacific high‐pressure system contribute to warming in the mid‐latitude regions of Eurasia. While in years when autumn snow cover in TP is less than normal, more snow cover over NEA is accompanied by a ‘warm Arctic‐cold Eurasia’ (WACE) temperature anomaly pattern prevalent during the winter season. The decrease in autumn Barents‐Kara Sea ice is accompanied by a circulation pattern akin to the negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation during winter, favouring the southward intrusion of cold air, thus contributing to this WACE temperature anomaly pattern. Further analysis reveals that the impact of snow cover on the WACE temperature pattern is, for the most part, independent of the Arctic sea ice.

Impact of Summer North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature Tripole on Precipitation over Mid–High-Latitude Eurasia

Abstract Eurasia is a sensitive and high-risk region for global climate changes, where climate anomalies significantly influence natural ecosystems, human health, and economic development. The North Atlantic tripole (NAT) sea surface temperature anomaly is crucial to interannual precipitation variations in Eurasia. Several studies have focused on the link between the NAT and climate anomalies in winter and spring. However, the mechanism by which the summer NAT impacts climate anomalies in Eurasia remains unclear. This study examines how the NAT impacts interannual variations of summer precipitation in mid–high-latitude Eurasia. Precipitation variations are associated with the atmospheric teleconnection triggered by the NAT. When the NAT is in its positive phase, the anomalous atmospheric diabatic heating over the North Atlantic excites an equivalent-barotropic Rossby wave train response that propagates eastward toward Eurasia, resulting in atmospheric circulation anomalies over the region. The combined effects of atmospheric circulation, radiative forcing, and water vapor transport anomalies lead to decreased precipitation across northern Europe and central Eurasia, with higher precipitation anomalies over northeast Asia. Finally, numerical experiments verify that the summer NAT excites atmospheric teleconnections that propagate downstream, affecting precipitation anomalies in mid–high-latitude Eurasia. This study provides a scientific basis for predicting Eurasian summer precipitation and strengthening disaster management strategies.

The relationship between Antarctic sea-ice extent change and the main modes of sea-ice variability in austral winter

Accompanying global warming, Antarctic sea-ice extent shows a somewhat increasing trend from 1979 to 2014, followed by an abrupt decrease after 2016. Our previous study examined the change of Antarctic sea-ice extent in austral summer, autumn and spring. In this study, we turn our attention to the austral winter, relating the main modes of sea-ice variability to sea-ice extent in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean. We find that the modes with the strongest correlation with the sea-ice extent are the third, first and first modes in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian sectors, respectively. Atmospheric circulation anomalies of zonal wavenumber three over the Southern Ocean, related to planetary wave trains induced by the SST anomalies over the south-western Pacific and the southern Indian oceans, can explain sea-ice concentration anomalies of the third mode in the Pacific sector through thermodynamic and dynamic processes. Sea-ice anomalies of the first modes in the Atlantic and Indian sectors result from atmospheric circulation anomalies of a positive and negative phases of the Southern Annular Mode, respectively. The anomalous Southern Annular Mode is also associated with wave trains over the Southern Ocean excited by SST anomalies over the southern Indian Ocean and the south-western Pacific Ocean. The relationship between SST anomalies and Antarctic sea-ice anomalies can provide a reference for the prediction of Antarctic sea-ice anomalies in austral winter on interannual and decadal timescales.

Interdecadal variations in the interannual relationship between winter tropical Pacific SST and subsequent summer Arctic sea ice in early 2000s

AbstractThe present study investigates the interdecadal change in the interannual relationship between winter sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical central‐eastern Pacific and the subsequent summer Arctic sea ice concentration (SIC) and its possible mechanism using 1979–2023 monthly SST and SIC data from Hadley Center and atmospheric reanalysis data from NCEP/NCAR. It is found that the relationship between the winter tropical Pacific SST and the subsequent summer SIC of Beaufort Sea experienced an obvious interdecadal change from a significant negative correlation to a weak and insignificant correlation before and after the early 2000s, respectively. Before the early 2000s, when winter SST warming (cooling) anomalies occurred in the central and eastern tropical Pacific, it could sustain into summer and enhance a Rossby wave propagating from Tropic to high latitude, forming negative (positive) pressure anomalies in the North Pacific. Influenced by such anomalies, it is conducive to maintaining negative (positive) SST anomalies in the North Pacific from winter to subsequent summer. The summer SST cooling (warming) in the North Pacific could form a favourable atmospheric circulation anomaly for less (more) SIC. In contrast, after the early 21st century, the strong SST anomalies in winter over the eastern tropical Pacific would weaken with time and subsequently diminish in spring, leading to the SST anomalies in the North Pacific persist to spring, which can hardly affect summer SIC anomaly in the Beaufort Sea. Therefore, the relationship collapses after the the early 2000s due to the weakened persistence of the eastern tropical Pacific SST anomaly.

Impact of the Kuroshio large meander on local atmospheric circulation and precipitation in winter

The Kuroshio, which flows to the south of Japan, typically takes two paths on decadal timescales; the straight path and the large meander path, or the so-called Kuroshio large meander. This phenomenon is characterized by the presence of the cyclonic cold-core eddy located south of Japan, which leads to both negative and positive sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies along the southeastern coast of Japan. To clarify the atmospheric response to these SST anomalies in winter, we conducted a control experiment employing a regional atmospheric model with observed SSTs and two sensitivity experiments in which the SST boundary conditions were substituted with those corresponding to the periods of for the Kuroshio large meander and the straight path. The differences in these two sensitivity experiments showed that the surface wind response to the SST anomalies associated with the Kuroshio large meander was not only characterized by wind divergence over the cyclonic cold-core eddy, as reported previously but also wind convergence along the southeastern coast of Japan. Interestingly, this wind anomaly blew into the positive SST anomaly along the east coast of Japan at around 36°N. Similar wind anomalies along the east coast of Japan were observed in a reanalysis product. The results of the model simulation and the reanalysis product showed that during the Kuroshio large meander period, the number of rainy days increased significantly over the warm SST anomaly, while the precipitation and the number of rainy days decreased over the cyclonic cold-core eddy. Moisture budget analysis revealed that the observed decrease in precipitation was attributed to the disparity between the reduced evaporation and the anomalous horizontal moisture convergence in a region where the surface winds were divergent. This moisture convergence was mainly induced by a decrease in specific humidity, implying this change in specific humidity effectively mitigated the variation in precipitation.

Radiative Regime According to the New RAD-MSU(BSRN) Complex in Moscow: The Roles of Aerosol, Surface Albedo, and Sunshine Duration

The radiative budget is one of the key factors that influences climate change. The aim of this study was to analyze the radiative regime in Moscow using the RAD-MSU(BSRN) complex and to estimate the radiative effects of the main geophysical factors during the 2021–2023 period. This complex is equipped and maintained according to the recommendations of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network; however, it is not a part of this network. In cloudless conditions, the decrease in global shortwave irradiance (Q) is about 18–22% due to the aerosol content with a pronounced change in the direct to diffuse ratio. In winter, the increase in Q is about 45 W/m2 (or 9%) at h = 30° due to a high surface albedo and reduced aerosol and water vapor contents, while the net shortwave irradiance (Bsh) demonstrates a significant decrease due to the prevailing effects of snow albedo. In cloudy conditions, a nonlinear dependence of Q and Bsh cloud transmittance on the relative sunshine duration is observed. The mean changes in Q for the 2021–2023 against the 1955–2020 period are characterized by negative anomalies (−22%) in winter and positive anomalies in summer (+3%) due to the changes in cloudiness. This is in line with the global tendencies in the long-term changes in shortwave irradiance in moderate climates in Europe in recent years.

Neural network-based climate index: Advancing rainfall prediction in EI Niño contexts

Accurate short-term climate predictions, specifically the prediction of dominant rain belts during flood seasons, represent a significant challenge, particularly in the absence of notable external forcing signal anomalies in the previous winter. To address this challenge, we propose a novel climate index based on an Auto-Encoder (AE) Neural Network that exhibits superior performance in indicating several significant precipitation events in the Yangtze and Huaihe River Basins under varying El Niño conditions. Notably, the novel climate index rectifies the discrepancy between the 2019/2020 Niño index and the 2020 summer precipitation. In order to understand the information source of AE, the causality between AE and other indices was further analyzed by Granger Causality. The results show that AE index mainly contains the information of subtropical high index and ocean index, which is consistent with previous studies.

Impact of a small-scale solar park on temperature and vegetation parameters obtained from Landsat 8

The effects of photovoltaic solar parks on the local environment are a growing topic of interest, as more solar parks are installed worldwide. Most studies focus on large solar parks, as these usually have more availability for both in situ and remote sensing data. Here, remote sensing data of surface temperature and vegetation were used to assess the impact of a relatively small utility-scale solar park (46 MW) in Portugal, in a region with a Mediterranean climate. Results show that the impact translates into a seasonal pattern, with positive surface temperature anomalies during the colder months and negative ones during the summer, which overall reduces the amplitude of the seasonal cycle. Comparing the operational period of the solar park with the one before its installation yields an increase in surface temperature for the control area of 1.74 °C contrasting with a decrease of 0.23 °C in the solar park area, during summertime (JJA). For the winter months (DJF), surface temperature increased for the solar park and control areas, by 0.4 °C and 1.44 °C, respectively. The effect is similar but less pronounced for anomalies in the inferred air temperature. For vegetation, negative anomalies in winter and little to no change during hotter months are observed.

Seasonal Dependence of the Pacific–North American Teleconnection Associated with ENSO and Its Interaction with the Annual Cycle

Abstract The Pacific–North American (PNA) teleconnection pattern is one of the prominent atmospheric circulation modes in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere, and its seasonal to interannual predictability is suggested to originate from El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Intriguingly, the PNA teleconnection pattern exhibits variance at near-annual frequencies, which is related to a rapid phase reversal of the PNA pattern during ENSO years, whereas the ENSO sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical Pacific are evolving much slower in time. This distinct seasonal feature of the PNA pattern can be explained by an amplitude modulation of the interannual ENSO signal by the annual cycle (i.e., the ENSO combination mode). The ENSO-related seasonal phase transition of the PNA pattern is reproduced well in an atmospheric general circulation model when both the background SST annual cycle and ENSO SST anomalies are prescribed. In contrast, this characteristic seasonal evolution of the PNA pattern is absent when the tropical Pacific background SST annual cycle is not considered in the modeling experiments. The background SST annual cycle in the tropical Pacific modulates the ENSO-associated tropical Pacific convection response, leading to a rapid enhancement of convection anomalies in winter. The enhanced convection results in a fast establishment of the large-scale PNA teleconnection during ENSO years. The dynamics of this ENSO–annual cycle interaction fills an important gap in our understanding of the seasonally modulated PNA teleconnection pattern during ENSO years.

Arctic-associated increased fluctuations of midlatitude winter temperature in the 1.5° and 2.0° warmer world

In recent decades, the interior regions of Eurasia and North America have experienced several unprecedentedly cold winters despite the global surface air temperature increases. One possible explanation of these increasing extreme cold winters comes from the so-called Warm Arctic Cold Continent (WACC) pattern, reflecting the effects of the amplified Arctic warming in driving the circulation change over surrounding continents. This study analyzed reanalysis data and model experiments forced by different levels of anthropogenic forcing. It is found that WACC exists on synoptic scales in observations, model’s historical and even future runs. In the future, the analysis suggests a continued presence of WACC but with a slightly weakened cold extreme due to the overall warming. Warm Arctic events under the warmer climate will be associated with not only a colder continent in East Asia but also a warmer continent, depending on the teleconnection process that is also complicated by the warmer Arctic. Such an increasingly association suggests a reduction in potential predictability of the midlatitude winter anomalies.

Preconditioning of Summer Melt Ponds From Winter Sea Ice Surface Temperature

AbstractComparing helicopter‐borne surface temperature maps in winter and optical orthomosaics in summer from the year‐long Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate expedition, we find a strong geometric correlation between warm anomalies in winter and melt pond location the following summer. Warm anomalies are associated with thinner snow and ice, that is, surface depression and refrozen leads, that allow for water accumulation during melt. Warm surface temperature anomalies in January were 0.3–2.5 K warmer on sea ice that later formed melt ponds. A one‐dimensional steady‐state thermodynamic model shows that the observed surface temperature differences are in line with the observed ice thickness and snow depth. We demonstrate the potential of seasonal prediction of summer melt pond location and coverage from winter surface temperature observations. A threshold‐based classification achieves a correct classification for 41% of the melt ponds.

Early- and late-winter ENSO teleconnections to the Euro-Atlantic region in state-of-the-art seasonal forecasting systems

A number of recent studies have highlighted the differences in the northern extratropical response to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) during the early and late part of the boreal cold season, particularly over the North Atlantic/European (NAE) region. Diagnostic analyses of multi-decadal GCM simulations performed as a part of CMIP5 and CMIP6 projects have shown that early winter tropical teleconnections are usually simulated with lower fidelity than their late-winter equivalents. Although some results from individual seasonal forecasting systems have been published on this topic, it is still unclear to what extent the problems detected in multi-decadal simulations also affect initialised seasonal forecasts from state-of-the art models. In this study, we diagnose ENSO teleconnections from the re-forecast ensembles of nine models contributing (during winter 2021/22) to the multi-model seasonal forecasting system of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The re-forecasts cover winters from 1993/94 to 2016/17, and are archived in the C3S Climate Data Store. Regression and composite patterns of 500-hPa height are computed separately for El Niño and La Niña winters, based on 2-month averages in November–December (ND) and January–February (JF). Model results are compared with the corresponding patterns derived from the ERA5 re-analysis. Signal-to-noise ratios are computed from time series of projections of individual winter anomalies onto the ENSO regression patterns. The results of this study indicate that initialised seasonal forecasts exhibit similar deficiencies to those already diagnosed in multi-decadal simulations, with a significant underestimation of the amplitude of early-winter teleconnections between ENSO and the NAE circulation, and of the signal-to-noise ratio in the early-winter response to El Niño. Further diagnostics highlight the impact of mis-representing the constructive interference of teleconnections from the Indian and Pacific Oceans in the early-winter ENSO response over the North Atlantic.

Intraseasonal mode of East Asian trough anomalies in boreal winter and specific possible mechanisms

Intraseasonal mode of East Asian trough anomalies in boreal winter and specific possible mechanisms

Signatures of Anomalous Transport in the 2019/2020 Arctic Stratospheric Polar Vortex

AbstractThe exceptionally strong and long‐lived Arctic stratospheric polar vortex in 2019/2020 resulted in large transport anomalies throughout the fall‐winter‐spring period from vortex development to breakup. These anomalies are studied using Aura MLS N2O, H2O, and CO long‐lived trace gas data, ACE‐FTS CH4 data, and meteorological and trace gas fields from reanalyses. Anomalies are strongest throughout the winter in the lower through the middle stratosphere (from about 500K through 700K), with record low (high) departures from climatology in N2O and CH4 (H2O). CO shows extreme high anomalies in midwinter through spring down to about 550K. Descent rates, vortex confinement, and trace gas distributions in the preceding months indicate that early winter anomalies in N2O and H2O arose primarily from entrainment of air with already‐anomalous values into the vortex as it developed in fall 2019 followed by descent of those anomalies to lower levels within the vortex. Trace gas anomalies in midwinter through the late vortex breakup in spring 2020 arose primarily from inhibition of mixing between vortex and extravortex air because of the exceptionally strong and persistent vortex. Persistent strong N2O and H2O gradients across the vortex edge demonstrate that air within the vortex and its remnants remained very strongly confined through late April (mid‐May) in the middle (lower) stratosphere. These results are important for understanding the evolution of trace gas distributions, which affects both polar chemical processing and radiative processes related to climate.

Atmospheric Contributions to the Reversal of Surface Temperature Anomalies Between Early and Late Winter Over Eurasia

AbstractObservations have shown subseasonal reversal of temperature anomalies between early and late winter over Eurasia, which is distinct from the seasonal mean condition. Based on the reanalysis data, the 1800‐year control simulation and the 40‐member ensemble simulations in 1920–2100 from the Community Earth System Model (CESM) Large Ensemble (CESM‐LE), this study reveals that the reversal of surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies between early and late winter is one of the dominant and intrinsic features of the Arctic‐Eurasian winter climate. Such a reversal is characterized by “colder Arctic, warmer Eurasia” in December (January–February) and “warmer Arctic, colder Eurasia” in January–February (December). Robust climate dynamic processes associated with the reversal of SAT anomalies, including subseasonal reversals of anomalies in the Ural blocking, midlatitude westerlies, and stratospheric polar vortex, are found in both reanalysis data and CESM simulations, indicating the important role of internal atmospheric variability. Further analysis reveals that the reversal of Ural blocking anomalies in late December can be a potential precursor for the reversal of SAT anomalies in late winter. The reversal of midlatitude westerly wind anomalies associated with the Ural blocking can affect upward propagation of planetary‐scale waves especially with wavenumber 1, subsequently promoting the contribution of stratospheric polar vortex to the reversal of SAT anomalies in late winter over the Arctic‐Eurasian regions. Such a troposphere‐stratosphere pathway triggered by the perturbation of tropospheric circulations is confirmed by the CESM‐LE simulations, and it may be useful for the prediction of subseasonal reversal of SAT anomalies.

OPENING UP FORAGE FIELDS DURING THE SNOWY SEASON - AN EFFECTIVE WINTER BIOTECHNICAL TECHNIQUE FOR FEEDING WILD CLOVEN-HOOFED MAMMALS

Despite the technical diversity of techniques for winter feeding of wild ungulates, technologies for opening up forage fields during abnormal periods of the wintering cycle have serious biological potential. In winter, when high snow cover blocks access of ungulates to natural forage in form of fallen leaves and grass rags under snow, clearing biotechnical fields before vegetation becomes exposed is an efficient method of feeding the wintering fauna, especially for Siberian roe deer. By clearing snow from “winter pastures”, where biotech crops and grasses such as sunflowers, oats, peas, and alfalfa were sown, large roe deer groups can be provided with a good and balanced forage ration. Taken together, these biotechnical measures compensate for the lowering of the level of forage resources during winter anomalies and encourage the dynamics of roe deer population growth and the process of reproduction in this species.

An Interdecadal Change in the Influence of ENSO on the Spring Tibetan Plateau Snow-Cover Variability in the Early 2000s

AbstractEl Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Tibetan Plateau snow cover are important factors in interannual climate variability. The relationship between ENSO and the Tibetan Plateau snow variation is still undetermined. While some studies suggested that ENSO is a key factor of changes in snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau, other studies noted independence between the two. The present study revealed a prominent interdecadal change in the relationship between ENSO and the spring Tibetan Plateau snow-cover variation in the early 2000s. There is a significant positive correlation between ENSO and the spring Tibetan Plateau snow-cover variation in the period 1988–2003, but an obvious negative relationship is detected in the period 2004–19. The interdecadal change in the ENSO–snow relationship is related to the distinct pathway of ENSO influence on the spring Tibetan Plateau snow-cover variation during the two periods. In the period 1988–2003, ENSO induces anomalous convection over the tropical western North Pacific that in turn causes atmospheric circulation and moisture anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau. The resultant winter snow anomalies over the central-eastern Tibetan Plateau persist to the following spring. In the period 2004–19, ENSO induces North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in winter that are maintained to the following spring. The North Atlantic SST anomalies then stimulate the atmospheric circulation anomalies extending to the Tibetan Plateau that induce snow-cover anomalies there in spring. The different processes of ENSO influence lead to opposite anomalies of spring snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau in the two periods.

Variations in the probability distribution function of air temperature anomalies in winter and summer from 1961 to 2016 over China

AbstractThe rising of near‐surface air temperature is the most obvious manifestation of global warming. The analysis of the probability distribution function (PDF) of temperature can deep our understanding of the current characteristics of climate and extreme temperature changes. In this study, the daily maximum, minimum and mean temperature observations from meteorological stations are analysed to construct the temperature anomaly PDF during 1961–2016 over China. The skewness and kurtosis of the PDF are compared between the 1961–1990 and 1991–2016 periods. The non‐Gaussian tails of the PDF are also identified to qualify the deviation of the temperature probability density curve. The results show that near‐surface air temperature in China increased during the recent decades. The daily minimum temperature increased more than the daily maximum temperature did, while the temperature increase in winter was larger than that in summer. The largest increase detected was 1.29°C for the daily minimum temperature in winter, contrasting with the smallest increase of 0.51°C recorded for the daily minimum temperature in summer between the two study periods. The temperature anomaly PDF generally presented a positive skewness in winter and a slightly negative skewness in summer. Obvious non‐Gaussian tails in the temperature anomaly PDF were present in the majority of the study sites. Most areas showed a short cold tail in winter (except for southwestern China), and long cold tails were mainly observed in summer. These results can improve our understanding of the variation of extreme temperatures, and of the responses to global warming.

Exploring Local Riverbank Sediment Controls on the Occurrence of Preferential Groundwater Discharge Points

Groundwater discharge to rivers takes many forms, including preferential groundwater discharge points (PDPs) along riverbanks that are exposed at low flows, with multi-scale impacts on aquatic habitat and water quality. The physical controls on the spatial distribution of PDPs along riverbanks are not well-defined, rendering their prediction and representation in models challenging. To investigate the local riverbank sediment controls on PDP occurrence, we tested drone-based and handheld thermal infrared to efficiently map PDP locations along two mainstem rivers. Early in the study, we found drone imaging was better suited to locating tributary and stormwater inflows, which created relatively large water surface thermal anomalies in winter, compared to PDPs that often occurred at the sub-meter scale and beneath riparian tree canopy. Therefore, we primarily used handheld thermal infrared imaging from watercraft to map PDPs and larger seepage faces along 12-km of the fifth-order Housatonic River in Massachusetts, USA and 26-km of the Farmington River in Connecticut, USA. Overall, we mapped 31 riverbank PDPs along the Housatonic reach that meanders through lower permeability soils, and 104 PDPs along the Farmington reach that cuts through sandier sediments. Riverbank soil parameters extracted at PDP locations from the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database did not differ substantially from average bank soils along either reach, although the Farmington riverbank soils were on average 5× more permeable than Housatonic riverbank soils, likely contributing to the higher observed prevalence of PDPs. Dissolved oxygen measured in discharge water at these same PDPs varied widely, but showed no relation to measured sand, clay, or organic matter content in surficial soils indicating a lack of substantial near-surface aerobic reaction. The PDP locations were investigated for the presence of secondary bank structures, and commonly co-occurred with riparian tree root masses indicating the importance of localized physical controls on the spatial distribution of riverbank PDPs.

Information system of analysis of geodata for tracking changes of vegetation

The rapid growth of geo-information technology capabilities in the field of spatial data processing and analysis has led to a significant growth of the role of geo-information systems in different areas of human activity. Application of approaches to spatial information processing from satellites new for more effective and efficient assessment of the state of plant cover is caused by growing tendency of availability to data of Earth remote sensing. The article offers an information system that allows to quickly and conveniently track changes in the vegetation. The analysis was carried out on the example of the Chornobyl Area between 2000 and 2020. The Chornobyl Disaster coincides with the period of intensive vegetative plant development. During that period, they are most sensitive to radiation. It has been established that for defining the quantitative state of biomass the NDVI index at different time intervals is most often used. But this index becomes ineffective during periods of weakening of active phase of vegetation. This is therefore of practical interest to assess the possibility of using the K-means clustering for the analysis of space images of vegetation cover at different phases of vegetation. As a result of the research, water surface, land with and without vegetation has been correctly interpreted, thus determining the land with a sparse vegetation and dense vegetation cover. The maps of the vegetation cover according to the normalized vegetative index using the K-medium method were constructed, the method by which changes in vegetation over 20 years can be clearly observed. The accuracy results were verified with the Common Method Bias. According to the calculations, despite all natural cataclysms (temperature increase, drought, winter anomalies of precipitations and temperatures, storms, forest fires), as well as human activity (sanitary clear cuttings, illegal logging), vegetation in the Chornobyl zone continues to grow and its areas will increase, although not so quickly.