Astana, 26 October. A storm warning has been issued for Monday, 26 October, in 16 regions of Kazakhstan and in Almaty and Shymkent, with forecasters expecting strong wind, fog, black ice, dust storms and night frosts, Kazhydromet said.
According to the forecast, most of the country will remain under a large anticyclone, with no precipitation in most regions. Rain and snow, with black ice in places, are expected in the north, south-east and centre. At night temperatures will drop to −11 °C in several regions. Forecasters expect an extreme fire risk in the Kyzylorda and Atyrau regions, in the west, south and centre of the Aktobe region, the west of the Karaganda region, the centre of the Mangystau region, the west and centre of the Ulytau region and the east of the Zhetysu region. In Astana, Almaty and several other cities air pollution is expected to be high. A storm warning is what Kazhydromet calls a notice of weather dangerous to people, transport and the economy: strong wind, black ice, dust storms, frost. An anticyclone is an area of high atmospheric pressure with little cloud or precipitation; clear nights let the ground cool sharply, which is why dry weather and night frosts come together.
The dry weather has already affected the forests. On Sunday, 25 October, three forest fires were recorded on state forest land, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources reported: two in the Kostanay region and one in the Semey Ormany state forest nature reserve. The fires were spotted during aerial monitoring; forest guards with special equipment put them out, and all three have been extinguished. Forest also burned in the Semey Ormany reserve on 3 October. The ministry did not give the area burned.
What it means: The frosty, windy weather of the holiday weekend continues on Monday, and a high fire risk covers almost all of the country's south, west and centre. Three forest fires in a day coincided with dry weather without rain.
Who benefits: Nobody; the warning concerns drivers (black ice, fog, dust storms), residents of cities with polluted air and the forestry service. The authorities ask people to take the forecast into account when travelling.
Background: Kazhydromet also issued a storm warning for 25 October, then for Almaty and 15 regions: a dust storm with gusts of up to 20 metres per second was expected in Kyzylorda, winds of up to 28 metres per second near the Alakol lakes and frosts down to −10 °C in the Zhetysu region.
We have also reported that frosts down to −10 °C and dust storms were expected in southern Kazakhstan over the holiday.
