It is impossible to monitor the state of the environment in the occupied territory, the occupiers massively mined meteorological stations, – Crimean Tatar Resource Center

This was stated by Svitlana Boychenko, a leading researcher at the Institute of Geophysics, climatologist, professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Crimean Tatar Resource Center, during the International Forum of the Crimean Platform Expert Network “Foreseeing the Future: Expert`s View”. 

“We cannot monitor the state of the environment in the occupied territories. Since 2014, Ukraine has not received meteorological data from Crimea. Since the beginning of the full-scale aggression, many meteorological stations have not been working in our country, and some of the stations that were under occupation were destroyed or mined. The only way to monitor the situation is through satellite images,” she said. 

According to the expert, artillery fire, the use of missiles and heavy equipment lead to pollution and changes in optical characteristics. As a result of the hostilities, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and aerosol impurities end up in the atmosphere, causing chemical processes and the formation of acid and black rain.  When these substances fall out as precipitation, it is harmful to humans, the atmosphere, and even equipment. 

The intensification of hostilities also leads to an increase in the pace of the military industry, which is very energy-intensive by nature, which in turn leads to an increase in greenhouse gases. 

“Most of these gases enter the atmosphere from russia, the United States, and Europe,” the expert explains. 

Another challenge is the pollution of the atmosphere with carbon monoxide and aerosol particles due to a large number of fires.