Marek Kučera 
Amid an unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Eastern Europe, the city of Izium in eastern Ukraine has just experienced its hottest day on record, with temperatures soaring to an astonishing +39.9°C. This all-time high was reached on July 12th 2025, setting a new benchmark for the city and surpassing all previously recorded maxima in local meteorological history.
Izium, located in Kharkiv Oblast, is accustomed to hot summers, but this event represents a climate milestone. The temperature came within just a fraction of the national heat record for Ukraine, which stands at +42.0°C, recorded in 2010. Though that national record still holds, the +39.9°C in Izium is the hottest ever recorded in the city, breaking all previous July and annual temperature extremes.
The heat was fueled by a stagnant dome of high pressure over Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region, allowing dry Saharan air to surge northward. The resulting clear skies, light winds, and dry ground conditions helped push temperatures to near-record levels across much of Ukraine, Moldova, and parts of southern Russia.
Earlier this week, Kherson hit +39.4°C, Luhansk +39.2°C, and Moldova recorded +39.0°C, all pointing to the breadth and severity of this historic heatwave. Even Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine came close to its all-time high, reaching +37.0°C — just 0.2°C below its August 1952 record.
The implications of Izium’s new record are serious. Such extreme heat threatens public health, especially among the elderly, children, and those with existing medical conditions. Heat exhaustion and heatstroke become far more likely at these temperatures, particularly in areas lacking widespread access to air conditioning. Local officials are urging residents to avoid outdoor activity during peak hours, hydrate frequently, and take protective measures.
Beyond health, the extreme heat also increases the risk of wildfires, crop damage, and energy demand surges across the region. In agricultural zones near Izium, crops such as sunflower and wheat are particularly vulnerable to heat stress and soil moisture loss during the critical mid-summer growing phase.
Climate experts view this event as another sign of the increasing frequency and severity of heat extremes in Ukraine and across Eastern Europe. The breaking of all-time temperature records in cities like Izium is consistent with broader warming trends observed over the past two decades, where summer heatwaves are arriving earlier, lasting longer, and pushing to higher extremes than ever before.
As the heatwave continues into mid-July, meteorologists are watching closely for further potential records, with +40/+41°C forecast in several locations across southern and eastern Ukraine in the coming days.
Illustration picture: https://theconversation.com/ukraine-produced-a-lot-of-grain-can-farmers-elsewhere-replace-the-crops-lost-to-war-180380
