oa Study of the Cloudiness Dynamics in Lutsk in the Context of Climate Change

The study analyses the dynamics, height, and temperature of the lower cloud base in Lutsk for the period 2010–2020. The research base includes archive data of the Lutsk weather station for 2010–2020, a selection of Sentinel-2 satellite images, our own observations, and instrumental measurements of the temperature of the low level clouds in Lutsk. It was established that during 2010–2020, cloudiness in Lutsk decreased compared to the climate normal. The decline in cloudiness indicators is noticeable both in the annual and average monthly values. As a rule, the cloudiness decreased by 1–1.5 points. There were also changes in the dynamics of individual types of clouds, in particular, the number of cirrus, cumulus, and cumulonimbus clouds increased. At the same time, the number of stratus and stratocumulus clouds, those producing steady rain, decreased. This indicates that climate changes also affected cloud cover, its formation and dynamics. Instrumental remote measurements revealed a significant difference (1–7 °C) in the temperature of the lower cloud base inside and outside the city. It will require a more detailed study in the future, possibly using special Sentinel-5P Cloud channels.