Meetings of scientific groups

11.3.2024

On March 7, 2024, a joint meeting of scientific groups of the Department of Chemistry, Geography and Earth Sciences was held.

On March 7, 2024, a joint meeting of scientific groups of the Department of Chemistry, Geography and Earth Sciences took place (“Innovative technologies for teaching geography”, supervisor: Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor Hanna Volodymyrivna Havriushenko; “Scientific Achievements in Chemistry and Earth Sciences”, supervisor: Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor Iryna Cherednychenko), at which Serhii RIABCHENKO, a 2nd-year student majoring in 014.07 “Secondary Education (Geography)” presented a report on the topic “IMPACT OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGES ON URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE”. The speaker emphasized that the impact of global climate change on urban infrastructure is manifested through:

• increase in the intensity and frequency of floods and downpours, which lead to flooding of low-lying urban areas;
• increase in the frequency of heat waves, which lead to overloading of air conditioning and power supply systems;
• changes in the water supply system: dry periods can lead to a decrease in the water level in rivers and reservoirs, which can affect the supply of drinking water for residents;
• frequency of extreme weather conditions – downpours, droughts, hurricanes;
• increasing volumes of garbage and environmental pollution in cities: rising temperatures can accelerate the decomposition of organic waste in landfills, and rising sea levels and extreme weather events can lead to flooding of landfills, which will contribute to the release of toxic and other pollutants into the environment.

The speaker focused on the fact that global climate changes have a significant impact on the urban infrastructure of many countries of the world, including Ukraine. The concentration of a large number of the population in cities and the growth of the share of the urban population in Ukraine (up to 67.2% in 2024) make the cities of Ukraine much more vulnerable to climate change compared to other settlements.

The speaker proposed specific areas of adaptation of urban infrastructure to global climate change, namely:

• development and improvement of drainage systems, drainage channels, drainage, and increasing drainage capacity that can reduce the risk of flooding;
• creation of water-permeable surfaces, water absorption sites and landscape areas, which will help reduce water runoff and increase its absorption;
• improvement of the insulation of the air conditioning system;
• creation of park areas in cities with green spaces and water bodies for cooling the urban environment;
• the use of green roofs and walls, which helps reduce the temperature of premises and the environment;
• creation of buildings and infrastructure facilities that can withstand extreme weather conditions;
• creation of barriers to protect against floods and sea level rise (construction of sea dykes, dams, water protection walls and other engineering structures, use of plant barriers such as mangrove forests);
• development of public transport, bicycle and pedestrian routes to reduce the use of vehicles that are a source of harmful emissions.

Currently, despite the difficult conditions, the scientific circles of the department continue their work in an online format. Useful scientific selections are created, and students join new scientific and educational projects.

Department of Chemistry, Geography and Earth Sciences