Chernobyl

File:Chernobyl (11383710145).jpg

The city's name is the same as one of the Ukrainian names for Artemisia vulgaris, mugwort or common wormwood: {{Langx|uk|чорнобиль|chornóbyl'|label=none}} (or more commonly {{Lang|uk|полин звичайний}} {{transliteration|uk|polýn zvycháynyy}}, 'common artemisia').Etymology from O. S. Melnychuk, ed. (1982–2012), Etymolohichnyi slovnyk ukraïnsʹkoï movy (Etymological dictionary of the Ukrainian language) v 7, Kyiv: Naukova Dumka. The name is inherited from {{proto|slavic|čьrnobylъ}} or {{proto|slavic|čьrnobyl}}, a compound of {{proto|slavic|čьrnъ|black}} + {{proto|slavic|bylь|grass}}, the parts related to {{Langx|uk|чорний|chórnyy|black|links=no}} and {{Lang|uk|било}} {{transliteration|uk|byló}}, 'stalk', so named in distinction to the lighter-stemmed wormwood A. absinthium.

The name in languages used nearby is:

• {{langx|uk|Чорнобиль|Chornobyl′}}, {{IPA|uk|tʃorˈnɔbɪlʲ|pron|uk-чорнобиль.ogg}}
• {{langx|be|Чарнобыль|Čarnobyĺ}}, {{IPA|be|t͡ʂarˈnɔbɨlʲ|pron}}
• {{Langx|ru|Черно́быль|Chernobyl′}}, {{IPA|ru|tɕɪrˈnobɨlʲ|pron}}.

The name in languages formerly used in the area is:

• {{langx|pl|Czarnobyl}}, {{IPA|pl|tʂarˈnɔbɨl|pron}}
• {{langx|yi|טשערנאָבל|Tshernobl}}, {{IPA|yi|tʃɛrˈnɔbl̩|pron}}.

In English, the Russian-derived spelling Chernobyl has been commonly used, but some style guides recommend the spelling Chornobyl,{{Cite web |title=The Guardian and Observer style guide |url=https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-c |date=2021-04-30 |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=The Guardian and Observer style guide |language=en |quote=Chornobyl not Chernobyl, for the site of the nuclear disaster in Ukraine}} or the use of romanized Ukrainian names for Ukrainian places generally.{{Cite web |title=The ABC Style Guide |url=https://about.abc.net.au/abc-editorial/the-abc-style-guide/ |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=About the ABC |quote=Use Ukrainian romanisations for place names from that country}}

File:Свято-Іллінська церква в Чорнобилі.jpg

File:Tabula VIII Europae.jpg) is the Sea of Azov, "Ponti Euxini pars" marks the Black Sea, and the Carpathians are drawn in the bottom left (southwest) corner as "Carpatus mons".]]

The Polish Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland of 1880–1902 states that the time the city was founded is not known.{{cite book |url=http://dir.icm.edu.pl/pl/Slownik_geograficzny/Tom_I/750 |chapter=Czarnobyl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313095112/http://dir.icm.edu.pl/pl/Slownik_geograficzny/Tom_I/750 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |title=Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland (1880–1902) |volume=I |page=750 |access-date=2 September 2020}}

Some older geographical dictionaries and descriptions of modern Eastern Europe mention "Czernobol" (Chernobyl) with reference to Ptolemy's world map (2nd century AD). Czernobol is identified as {{ill|Azagarium|uk|Азагаріум}} "oppidium Sarmatiae" (Lat., "a city in Sarmatia"), by the 1605 Lexicon geographicum of Filippo Ferrari{{cite book |last= Ferrari |first=Filippo |author-link= Filippo Ferrari |chapter= Chernobol |title= Lexicon geographicum |year= 1670 |volume= 2 |edition= 1670 (reprint of 1605 first edition) |location= Paris |quote= Czernobol, Azagarium, oppidium Sarmatiae. (lit. "Czernobol, Azagarium, city in Sarmatia.") |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-pREAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA396 |access-date= 2 September 2020 |archive-date= 5 March 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220305100032/https://books.google.com/books?id=-pREAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA396 |url-status= live }} and the 1677 Lexicon Universale of Johann Jakob Hofmann.{{cite book |last= Hofmann |first=Johann Jakob Hofmann |title= Chernobol – Lexicon universale historico-geographico-chronologico-poetico-philologicum |year= 1677 |quote= Czernobol, oppidium Sarmatiae, Azagarium. (lit. "Czernobol, city in Sarmatia, Azagarium.") |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zSxfck1ntLYC&pg=RA1-PA36 |access-date= 2 September 2020 }} According to the Dictionary of Ancient Geography of Alexander Macbean (London, 1773), Azagarium is "a town of Sarmatia Europaea, on the Borysthenes" (Dnieper), 36° East longitude and 50°40' latitude. The city is "now supposed to be Czernobol, a town of Poland, in Red Russia [Red Ruthenia], in the Palatinate of Kiow [Kiev Voivodeship], not far from the Borysthenes."{{cite book |last=Macbean |first=Alexander |author-link=Alexander Macbean |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EqwBAAAAYAAJ&q=Czernobol&pg=RA7-PA18 |chapter=Azagarium |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028002500/https://books.google.ca/books?id=EqwBAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA7-PA18&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Czernobol&f=false |archive-date=28 October 2020 |title=A Dictionary of Ancient Geography |location=London |year=1773 |access-date=24 October 2020}}

Whether Azagarium is indeed Czernobol is debatable. The question of Azagarium's correct location was raised in 1842 by Habsburg-Slovak historian, Pavel Jozef Šafárik, who published a book titled "Slavic Ancient History" ("Sławiańskie starożytności"), where he claimed Azagarium to be the hill of Zaguryna, which he found on an old Russian map "Bolzoj czertez" (Big drawing){{dubious|Azagarium|reason=What is this "Big drawing"? The name of the map, or what?|date=September 2020}} near the city of Pereiaslav, now in central Ukraine.{{cite book |last=Šafárik |first=Pavel Jozef |author-link=Pavel Jozef Šafárik |title= Sławiańskie starożytności |page= 660 |publisher= Wydanie i druk W. Stefańskiego |location= Poznan |volume= 1 |year= 1842 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=m6x5wrdxackC&pg=PA660 |access-date=2 September 2020}}

In 2019, Ukrainian architect Boris Yerofalov-Pylypchak published a book, Roman Kyiv or Castrum Azagarium at Kyiv-Podil.{{cite book |last= Yerofalov-Pylypchak |first= Boris |title= Римский Киев: или Castrum Azagarium на Киево-Подоле (Roman Kyiv or Castrum Azagarium at Kyiv-Podil) |publisher= A+C |year= 2019 |isbn= 9786177765010 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YWg2ywEACAAJ |access-date=2 September 2020}}

The archaeological excavations that were conducted in 2005–2008 found a cultural layer from the 10–12th centuries AD, which predates the first documentary mention of Chernobyl.Pereverziev, S.V. [http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/handle/123456789/83442 Exploring of Chernobyl hillfort. Problems and perspectives of medieval archaeology in exclusion zone] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708162014/http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/handle/123456789/83442 |date=8 July 2020 }}. Archaeology and old history of Ukraine. Collection of scientific works. Kyiv, 2010

Around the 12th century Chernobyl was part of the land of Kievan Rus′. The first known mention of the settlement as Chernobyl is from an 1193 charter, which describes it as a hunting lodge of Knyaz Rurik Rostislavich.{{cite book |last=Davies |first=Norman |author-link=Norman Davies |title=Europe: A History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |isbn=0-19-820171-0}}{{cite web |url=http://www.Chernobyl.in.ua/en/Chernobyl.htm |title=Chernobyl ancient history and maps}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. In 1362{{cite encyclopedia |last=Tronko |first=Petro |author-link=Petro Tronko |url=http://imsu-kyiv.com/msta-sela-kivsko-oblast/chornobylskyj-rajon/chornobyl.html |title=Chornobyl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222184456/http://imsu-kyiv.com/msta-sela-kivsko-oblast/chornobylskyj-rajon/chornobyl.html |archive-date=22 February 2020 |encyclopedia=The History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR}} it was a crown village of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Around that time the town had own castle which was ruined at least on two occasions in 1473 and 1482. The Chernobyl castle was rebuilt in the first quarter of the 16th century being located nearby the settlement in a hard to reach area. With revival of the castle, Chernobyl became a county seat. In 1552 it accounted for 196 buildings with 1,372 residents, out of which over 1,160 were considered city dwellers. In the city were developing various crafts professions such as blacksmith, cooper among others. Near Chernobyl has been excavated bog iron, out of which was produced iron. The village was granted to Filon Kmita, a captain of the royal cavalry, as a fiefdom in 1566. Following the Union of Lublin, the province where Chernobyl is located was transferred to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland in 1569. Under the Polish Crown, Chernobyl became a seat of eldership (starostwo). During that period Chernobyl was inhabited by Ukrainian peasants, some Polish people and a relatively large number of Jews.{{Cite web|title= The Situation of Ethnic Minorities|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a80718.html|website=Refworld|language=en|access-date=27 May 2020|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308155009/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a80718.html|url-status=live}} Jews were brought to Chernobyl by Filon Kmita, during the Polish campaign of colonization. The first mentioning of Jewish community in Chernobyl is in the 17th century.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://eleven.co.il/diaspora/communities/14672/ |title=Chernobyl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813112054/https://eleven.co.il/diaspora/communities/14672/ |archive-date=13 August 2020 |encyclopedia=Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia}} In 1600 the first Roman Catholic church was built in the town. Local population was persecuted for holding Eastern Orthodox rite services. The traditionally Eastern Orthodox Ukrainian peasantry around the town were forcibly converted, by Poland, to the Ruthenian Uniate Church.{{Cite book|last=Serhii|first=Plokhy|title=Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|year=2018|isbn=9780241349038}} In 1626, during the Counter-Reformation, a Dominican church and monastery were founded by Lukasz Sapieha. A group of Old Catholics opposed the decrees of the Council of Trent.{{clarify|date=June 2017}} The Chernobyl residents actively supported the Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648–1657).

With the signing of the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, Chernobyl was secured after{{dubious|What is the meaning of "was secured after the Sapieha family" in proper English?|date=September 2020}} the Sapieha family. Sometime in the 18th century, the place was passed on to the Chodkiewicz family. In the mid-18th century the area around Chernobyl was engulfed in a number of peasant riots, which caused Prince Riepnin to write from Warsaw to Major General Krechetnikov, requesting hussars to be sent from Kharkiv to deal with the uprising near Chernobyl in 1768. The 8th Lithuanian Infantry Regiment was stationed in the town in 1791.{{cite book|last=Gembarzewski|first=Bronisław|title=Rodowody pułków polskich i oddziałów równorzędnych od r. 1717 do r. 1831|year=1925|language=pl|publisher=Towarzystwo Wiedzy Wojskowej|location=Warszawa|page=35}} By the end of the 18th century, the town accounted for 2,865 residents and had 642 buildings.

Following the Second Partition of Poland, in 1793 Chernobyl was annexed by the Russian EmpireDavies, Norman (1995) [http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~sarmatia/195/index.html "Chernobyl"], The Sarmatian Review, vol. 15, No. 1, Polish Institute of Houston at Rice University, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304203059/http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~sarmatia/195/index.html |date=4 March 2007 }}. and became part of Radomyshl county (uezd) as a supernumerary town ("zashtatny gorod"). Many of the Uniate Church converts returned to Eastern Orthodoxy.{{Cite book|last1=Roudometof|first1=Victor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mQRtAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA153|title=Eastern Orthodoxy in a Global Age: Tradition Faces the 21st Century|last2=Agadjanian|first2=Alexander|last3=Pankhurst|first3=Jerry|date= 2005|publisher=Rowman Altamira|isbn=978-0-7591-1477-7|language=en|access-date=3 September 2020|archive-date=15 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015153031/https://books.google.com/books?id=mQRtAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA153|url-status=live}}

In 1832, following the failed Polish November Uprising, the Dominican monastery was sequestrated. The church of the Old Catholics was disbanded in 1852.

Until the end of the 19th century, Chernobyl was a privately owned city that belonged to the Chodkiewicz family. In 1896 they sold the city to the state, but until 1910 they owned a castle and a house in the city.

In the second half of the 18th century, Chernobyl became a major centre of Hasidic Judaism. The Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty had been founded by Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twersky. The Jewish population suffered greatly from pogroms in October 1905 and in March–April 1919; many Jews were killed or robbed at the instigation of the Russian nationalist Black Hundreds. When the Twersky Dynasty left Chernobyl in 1920, it ceased to exist as a center of Hasidism.

Chernobyl had a population of 10,800 in 1898, including 7,200 Jews. In the beginning of March 1918 Chernobyl was occupied in World War I by German forces in accordance with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Ukrainians and Bolsheviks fought over the city in the ensuing Civil War. In the Polish–Soviet War of 1919–20, Chernobyl was taken first by the Polish Army and then by the cavalry of the Red Army. From 1921 onwards, it was officially incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR.

Between 1929 and 1933, Chernobyl suffered from killings during Stalin's collectivization campaign. It was also affected by the famine that resulted from Stalin's policies.{{Cite web|url=http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/stalin.htm|title=Genocide in the 20th Century: Stalin's Forced Famine 1932–33|website=www.historyplace.com|access-date=16 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224182059/http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/stalin.htm|archive-date=24 December 2018|url-status=live}} The Polish and German community of Chernobyl was deported to Kazakhstan in 1936, during the Frontier Clearances.{{Cite book|title=A Biography of No Place: From Ethnic Borderland to Soviet heartland|last=Brown|first=Kate|date=2004|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0674011686|location=Cambridge, Mass.|oclc=52727650}}

During World War II, Chernobyl was occupied by the German Army from 25 August 1941 to 17 November 1943. When the Germans arrived, only 400 Jews remained in Chernobyl;{{Cite book |last= Plokhy |first= Serhii |authorlink= Serhii Plokhy |year= 2018 |title= Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe |location= New York|publisher= Basic Books |isbn= 978-1-541-61709-4 |pages=28–29}} they were murdered during the Holocaust.

In 1972, the Duga-1 radio receiver, part of the larger Duga over-the-horizon radar array, began construction {{convert|11|km|mi|abbr=on}} west-northwest of Chernobyl. It was the origin of the Russian Woodpecker and was designed as part of an anti-ballistic missile early-warning radar network.{{Cite web|first=Pavlo |last=Fedykovych|title=Duga radar: Enormous abandoned antenna hidden in forests near Chernobyl|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/duga-radar-chernobyl-ukraine/index.html|access-date=17 April 2021|website=CNN|date=March 2019 |language=en|archive-date=27 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627082623/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/duga-radar-chernobyl-ukraine/index.html|url-status=live}}

On 15 August 1972, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (officially the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Nuclear Power Plant) began construction about {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}}{{cite web |first=Marc |last=Lallanilla. |url=https://www.livescience.com/39961-chernobyl.html |title=Chernobyl: Facts About the Nuclear Disaster |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419013251/https://www.livescience.com/39961-chernobyl.html |archive-date=19 April 2019 |website=Live Science |access-date=20 June 2019 |date=25 September 2013}}{{cite report |url=https://www.oecd-nea.org/rp/chernobyl/c01.html |title=Chernobyl: Assessment of Radiological and Health Impact (2002 Update of 'Chernobyl: 10 Years On) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021215100/https://www.oecd-nea.org/rp/chernobyl/c01.html |archive-date=21 October 2020 |author=Nuclear Energy Agency |year=2002 |isbn=92-64-18487-2}} northwest of Chernobyl. The plant was built alongside Pripyat, an "atomograd" city founded on 4 February 1970 that was intended to serve the nuclear power plant. The decision to build the power plant was adopted by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union on recommendations of the State Planning Committee that the Ukrainian SSR be its location. It was the first nuclear power plant to be built in Ukraine.{{Cite web |title=Chernobyl Accident 1986 |publisher=World Nuclear Association |url=https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=world-nuclear.org}}

After the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant; the worst nuclear disaster in history, the city of Chernobyl was evacuated on 5 May 1986. Along with the residents of the nearby city of Pripyat, built as a home for the plant's workers, the population was relocated to the newly built city of Slavutych. While Pripyat remains completely abandoned with no remaining inhabitants, Chernobyl has since hosted a small population.

{{More citations needed section|date=February 2022}}

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Chernobyl remained part of Ukraine within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone which Ukraine inherited from the Soviet Union.{{Cite journal |last=Davies |first=Thom |last2=Polese |first2=Abel |date=2015-01-01 |title=Informality and survival in Ukraine's nuclear landscape: Living with the risks of Chernobyl |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1879366514000232 |journal=Journal of Eurasian Studies |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=34–45 |doi=10.1016/j.euras.2014.09.002 |issn=1879-3665}}

{{Main|Capture of Chernobyl}}

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces captured the city on 24 February.{{Cite news|title=Russia captures Chernobyl power plant after battle with Ukrainian forces|url=https://www.thejournal.ie/russia-captures-chernobyl-5692876-Feb2022/|date=24 February 2022|access-date=24 February 2022|work=TheJournal.ie|agency=AFP|archive-date=24 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224202250/https://www.thejournal.ie/russia-captures-chernobyl-5692876-Feb2022/|url-status=live}} Following the capture of Chernobyl, the Russian army used the city as a staging point for attacks on Kyiv.{{Cite news |last1=Kramer |first1=Andrew E. |last2=Prickett |first2=Ivor |date=2022-04-08 |title=Russian Blunders in Chernobyl: 'They Came and Did Whatever They Wanted' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/world/europe/ukraine-chernobyl.html |access-date=2024-08-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Ukrainian officials reported that the radiation levels in the city had started to rise due to recent military activity causing radioactive dust to ascend into the air.{{cite news|last1=Polityuk|first1=Pavel|last2=Crellin|first2=Forrest|title=Ukraine reports higher Chernobyl radiation after Russians capture plant|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-nuclear-agency-reports-higher-chernobyl-radiation-levels-due-heavy-2022-02-25|access-date=26 February 2022|work=Reuters|date=25 February 2022|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226005304/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-nuclear-agency-reports-higher-chernobyl-radiation-levels-due-heavy-2022-02-25/|url-status=live}} Hundreds of Russian soldiers were suffering from radiation poisoning after digging trenches in a contaminated area, and one died.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/04/01/russian-soldier-dies-radiation-poisoning-chernobyl/|work=The Telegraph|date=1 April 2022|accessdate=1 April 2022|first=James |last=Kilner|title=Russian soldier dies from radiation poisoning at Chernobyl}} On 31 March it was reported that Russian forces had left the exclusion zone.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3444941-russian-invaders-leaving-chornobyl-npp-energoatom.html|title=Russian invaders leaving Chornobyl NPP – Energoatom|date=31 March 2022 }} Ukrainian authorities reasserted control over the area on 2 April.{{Cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-04-2-22#h_8ced7c0e79f27958c6ce12f4895d5228|title = Ukrainian flag raised over Chernobyl, nuclear operator says|date = 2 April 2022}}

Chernobyl is located about {{convert|90|km|mi|sigfig=1}} north of Kyiv, and {{convert|160|km|mi|sigfig=1}} southwest of the Belarusian city of Gomel.

Chernobyl has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with very warm, wet summers with cool nights and long, cold, and snowy winters.{{Weather box

|location = Chernobyl, 127 m asl (1981–2010 normals, extremes 1955–present)

|collapsed =

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 11.5

|Feb record high C = 17.0

|Mar record high C = 22.6

|Apr record high C = 26.6

|May record high C = 32.9

|Jun record high C = 34.0

|Jul record high C = 35.2

|Aug record high C = 36.3

|Sep record high C = 35.9

|Oct record high C = 26.3

|Nov record high C = 19.6

|Dec record high C = 11.3

|year record high C = 36.3

|Jan high C = -0.8

|Feb high C = 0.1

|Mar high C = 6.0

|Apr high C = 14.5

|May high C = 21.0

|Jun high C = 23.7

|Jul high C = 25.7

|Aug high C = 25.0

|Sep high C = 18.9

|Oct high C = 12.4

|Nov high C = 4.2

|Dec high C = -0.3

|year high C = 12.5

|Jan mean C = -3.5

|Feb mean C = -3.4

|Mar mean C = 1.5

|Apr mean C = 8.9

|May mean C = 14.9

|Jun mean C = 17.9

|Jul mean C = 19.9

|Aug mean C = 18.8

|Sep mean C = 13.4

|Oct mean C = 7.7

|Nov mean C = 1.4

|Dec mean C = -2.8

|year mean C = 7.9

|Jan low C = -6.1

|Feb low C = -6.7

|Mar low C = -2.3

|Apr low C = 3.9

|May low C = 9.1

|Jun low C = 12.3

|Jul low C = 14.5

|Aug low C = 13.3

|Sep low C = 8.7

|Oct low C = 3.8

|Nov low C = -1.1

|Dec low C = -5.2

|year low C = 3.7

|Jan record low C = -29.7

|Feb record low C = -32.8

|Mar record low C = -20.0

|Apr record low C = -9.0

|May record low C = -6.0

|Jun record low C = 2.2

|Jul record low C = 6.2

|Aug record low C = 0.0

|Sep record low C = -1.6

|Oct record low C = -10.5

|Nov record low C = -20.0

|Dec record low C = -30.8

|year record low C = -32.8

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 34.0

|Feb precipitation mm = 36.8

|Mar precipitation mm = 35.6

|Apr precipitation mm = 40.0

|May precipitation mm = 60.8

|Jun precipitation mm = 73.2

|Jul precipitation mm = 79.5

|Aug precipitation mm = 55.3

|Sep precipitation mm = 56.3

|Oct precipitation mm = 42.2

|Nov precipitation mm = 47.7

|Dec precipitation mm = 42.6

|year precipitation mm = 604.0

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 8.1

|Feb precipitation days = 8.9

|Mar precipitation days = 8.1

|Apr precipitation days = 7.5

|May precipitation days = 8.7

|Jun precipitation days = 10.2

|Jul precipitation days = 9.2

|Aug precipitation days = 7.1

|Sep precipitation days = 8.7

|Oct precipitation days = 7.4

|Nov precipitation days = 8.7

|Dec precipitation days = 9.1

|year precipitation days = 101.7

|Jan humidity = 83.5

|Feb humidity = 79.8

|Mar humidity = 74.7

|Apr humidity = 66.7

|May humidity = 66.0

|Jun humidity = 70.4

|Jul humidity = 72.8

|Aug humidity = 72.3

|Sep humidity = 77.8

|Oct humidity = 80.8

|Nov humidity = 85.3

|Dec humidity = 85.9

|year humidity = 76.3

|source 1 = NOAA{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210717143555/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1981-2010/RA-VI/Ukraine/12.6.%20WMO_Normals_Excel_Template%20%282%29.xls

| archive-date = 17 July 2021

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1981-2010/RA-VI/Ukraine/12.6.%20WMO_Normals_Excel_Template%20(2).xls

| format = XLS

| title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981–2010

| publisher = National Centers for Environmental Information

| access-date = 17 July 2021}}

|source 2 = Météo Climat (extremes){{cite web|url=http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/station-1986.php|title=Weather extremes for Tchernobyl|publisher=Météo Climat|language=fr|access-date=17 July 2021|archive-date=13 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013210112/http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/station-1986.php|url-status=live}}

}}

File:Černobyl, 18.jpg Memorial Complex]]

{{Main|Chernobyl disaster|Effects of the Chernobyl disaster}}

On 26 April 1986, one of the reactors at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded after a scheduled test on the reactor was carried out improperly by plant operators.{{cite web |title=Chernobyl Accident 1986 |url=https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident |website=World Nuclear Association |access-date=27 December 2024}} The resulting loss of control was due to design flaws of the RBMK reactor, which made it unstable when operated at low power, and prone to thermal runaway where increases in temperature increase reactor power output.{{Cite book|title=Chernobyl : the history of a nuclear catastrophe|last=Plokhy|first=Serhii|isbn=9781541617094|edition= 1st|location=New York|oclc=1003311263|date = 2018}}{{Cite book|title=Producing power : the pre-Chernobyl history of the Soviet nuclear industry|last=Schmid|first=Sonja D.|year=2015|isbn=9780262321792|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|oclc=904249268|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/producingpowerpr0000schm}}

Chernobyl city was evacuated nine days after the disaster. The level of contamination with caesium-137 was around 555 kBq/m² (surface ground deposition in 1986).{{Cite report |title=The atlas of cesium-137 contamination of Europe after the Chernobyl accident |display-authors=3 |last1=Izrael |first1=Yu A |last2=De Cort |first2=M |last3=Jones |first3=A R |last4=Nazarov |first4=I M |last5=Fridman |first5=Sh D |last6=Kvasnikova |first6=E V |last7=Stukin |first7=E D |last8=Kelly |first8=G N |last9=Matveenko |first9=I I |last10=Pokumeiko |first10=Yu M |last11=Tabatchnyi |first11=L Ya |last12=Tsaturov |first12=Yu |date=July 1996 |url=https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/biblio/20112711 |at=fig. 2 |access-date=22 July 2019 |archive-date=21 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721225120/https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/biblio/20112711 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |author=UNSCEAR |author-link=UNSCEAR |title=UNSCEAR 2000 Report Vol. II Annex J Exposures and effects of the Chernobyl accident |year=2000 |url=https://www.unscear.org/docs/publications/2000/UNSCEAR_2000_Annex-J.pdf |access-date=22 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410170954/http://www.unscear.org/docs/publications/2000/UNSCEAR_2000_Annex-J.pdf |archive-date=10 April 2018 |url-status=dead }}

Later analyses concluded that, even with very conservative estimates, relocation of the city (or of any area below 1500 kBq/m²) could not be justified on the grounds of radiological health.{{cite conference |title=Evaluation of countermeasures to be taken to assure safe living conditions to the population affected by the Chernobyl accident in the USSR |last1=Lochard |first1=J. |last2=Schneider |first2=T. |last3=Kelly |first3=N. |url=https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:36050233 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308155440/https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:36050233 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 March 2021 |conference=8. International congress of the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA8) |year=1992 |volume=36 |issue=24 |isbn=1-55048-657-8 }} [http://www.irpa.net/members/OCR_IRPA_8_Proceedings.pdf Full conference pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722224516/http://www.irpa.net/members/OCR_IRPA_8_Proceedings.pdf |date=22 July 2019 }}{{cite tech report |author1=Lochard, J. |author2=Schneider, T. |author3=French, S. |title=International Chernobyl project – input from the Commission of the European Communities to the evaluation of the relocation policy adopted by the former Soviet Union |url=https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=reportnumber:%22EUR--14543%22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308223428/https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=reportnumber:%22EUR--14543%22 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 March 2021 |institution=Commission of the European Communities }}{{Cite journal |last1=Waddington |first1=I. |last2=Thomas |first2=P. J. |last3=Taylor |first3=R. H. |last4=Vaughan |first4=G. J. |date=1 November 2017 |title=J-value assessment of relocation measures following the nuclear power plant accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi |journal=Process Safety and Environmental Protection |volume=112 |pages=16–49 |doi=10.1016/j.psep.2017.03.012 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2017PSEP..112...16W |issn=0957-5820|hdl=1983/f281150c-c2ab-4b06-8773-4aa2292f1991 |hdl-access=free }}

This however does not account for the uncertainty in the first few days of the accident about further depositions and weather patterns.

Moreover, an earlier short-term evacuation could have averted more significant doses from short-lived isotope radiation (specifically iodine-131, which has a half-life of eight days).

The long-term health effects of the Chernobyl disaster are a subject of some controversy.

In 1998, average caesium-137 doses from the accident (estimated at 1–2 mSv per year) did not exceed those from other sources of exposure.{{cite report |title=Atlas of caesium deposition on Europe after the Chernobyl accident |first1=M |last1=De Cort |first2=G |last2=Dubois |first3=Sh D |last3=Fridman |first4=M G |last4=Germenchuk |first5=Yu A |last5=Izrael |first6=A |last6=Janssens |first7=A R |last7=Jones |first8=G N |last8=Kelly |first9=E V |last9=Kvasnikova |first10=I I |last10=Matveenko |first11=I M |last11=Nazarov |first12=Yu M |last12=Pokumeiko |first13=V A |last13=Sitak |first14=E D |last14=Stukin |first15=L Ya |last15=Tabachny |first16=Yu S |last16=Tsaturov |first17=S I |last17=Avdyushin |display-authors=3 |year=1998 |url=http://cricket.biol.sc.edu/chernobyl/UN-reports/Atlas.pdf |isbn=92-828-3140-X |oclc=48391311 |at=p. 31 |access-date=22 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722234251/http://cricket.biol.sc.edu/chernobyl/UN-reports/Atlas.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2019 |url-status=dead }} Current effective caesium-137 dose rates as of 2019 are 200–250 nSv/h, or roughly 1.7–2.2 mSv per year,{{cite web |title=Information on the radiation state of the environment of the exclusion zone |author=State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management |url=http://dazv.gov.ua/radiatsijnij-stan/informatsiya-pro-radiatsijnij-stan-dovkillya-zoni-vidchuzhennya.html |access-date=22 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720225856/http://dazv.gov.ua/radiatsijnij-stan/informatsiya-pro-radiatsijnij-stan-dovkillya-zoni-vidchuzhennya.html |archive-date=20 July 2019 |url-status=dead }}

which is comparable to the worldwide average background radiation from natural sources.

The base of operations for the administration and monitoring of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was moved from Pripyat to Chernobyl. Chernobyl currently contains offices for the State Agency of Ukraine on the Exclusion Zone Management and accommodations for visitors. Apartment blocks have been repurposed as accommodations for employees of the State Agency. The length of time that workers may spend within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is restricted by regulations that have been implemented to limit radiation exposure. Today, visits are allowed to Chernobyl but limited by strict rules.

In 2003, the United Nations Development Programme launched a project, called the Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme (CRDP), for the recovery of the affected areas.{{Cite web|url=http://www.undp.org.ua/?page=projects&projects=14|title=UNDP Ukraine|date=4 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704002250/http://www.undp.org.ua/?page=projects&projects=14|archive-date=4 July 2007}} The main goal of the CRDP's activities is supporting the efforts of the Government of Ukraine to mitigate the long-term social, economic, and ecological consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.

The city has become overgrown and many types of animals live there. According to census information collected over an extended period of time, it is estimated that more mammals live there now than before the disaster.{{cite news |first=Victoria |last=Gill |date=5 October 2015 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34414914 |title=Wild mammals 'have returned' to Chernobyl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817164332/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34414914 |archive-date=17 August 2018 |work=BBC News |department=Science & Environment}}

Notably, Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union, stated in respect to the Chernobyl disaster that, "More than anything else, (Chernobyl) opened the possibility of much greater freedom of expression, to the point that the (Soviet) system as we knew it could no longer continue."{{cite news |work=Japan Times |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2006/04/21/commentary/world-commentary/turning-point-at-chernobyl/ |title=Turning point at Chernobyl |first= Mikhail |last=Gorbachev |author-link=Mikhail Gorbachev |date=21 April 2006 |location=Moscow}}

• Aaron Twersky of Chernobyl (1784–1871), rabbi
• Aleksander Franciszek Chodkiewicz (1776–1838), Polish politician and lithographer
• Alexander Krasnoshchyokov (1880–1937), politician
• Andriy Smalko (1981–), football player
• Arnold Lakhovsky (1880–1937), artist
• Jan Mikołaj Chodkiewicz (1738–1781), Polish nobleman, father of Rozalia Lubomirska
• Ekaterina Scherbachenko (1977–), opera singer
• Grigory Irmovich Novak (1919–1980), Jewish Soviet weightlifter
• Joshua ben Aaron Zeitlin (1823–1888), scholar and philanthropist
• Markiyan Kamysh (1988–), novelist and son of a liquidator
• Rozalia Lubomirska (1768–1794), Polish noblewoman guillotined during the French Revolution
• Volodymyr Pravyk (1962–1986), firefighter and liquidator

• List of Chernobyl-related articles

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{{commons category|Chornobyl}}

{{Wikivoyage}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20190729030658/http://dazv.gov.ua/en State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management] – official information on public works, zone status, visits, etc.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20190720225856/http://dazv.gov.ua/radiatsijnij-stan/informatsiya-pro-radiatsijnij-stan-dovkillya-zoni-vidchuzhennya.html Official radiation measurements] – State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management. [https://web.archive.org/web/20190719223822/http://www.srp.ecocentre.kiev.ua/MEDO-PS/index.php?lang=ENG&online=1 Online map].
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130622165149/http://jewua.org/chernobyl/ Chernobyl] – History of Jewish Communities in Ukraine JewUa.org
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140307123923/http://chernobylgallery.com/galleries/chernobyl/ The Chernobyl Gallery]

{{Chernobyl Exclusion Zone}}

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Category:1193 establishments in Europe

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Category:Cities in Kyiv Oblast

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