This paper analyses projected changes in short-term rainfall events during the warm season (April – October) in an ensemble of 30 regional climate model (RCM) simulations. The analysis of trend changes and changes in scaling exponents was done for the Hurbanovo, Bratislava, Oravská Lesná, and Myjava stations in Slovakia. The characteristics of maximum rainfall events were analysed for two scenario periods, one past and one future (1960–2000 and 2070–2100) and compared to the characteristics of the actual observed events. The main findings from the analysis show that 60-min short-term events for most of the RCM simulations will either increase or remain constant. On the other hand, the depths and intensities of daily events are projected to increase significantly; in some cases they were found to be ten times larger. Trends in future events at the Hurbanovo station were found to be insignificant. In the other stations positive trends in future rainfall events prevail, except for daily rainfall at the Myjava station, which shows a negative trend. Using results from the selected simulations, the scaling exponents estimated are on average lower than the exponents of the data observed. On the other hand, due to the higher daily precipitation amounts in the future seen to all the scenarios, the downscaled values of short-term rainfall at all the stations analysed might be considerably higher in the future horizons, which could subsequently affect future design rainfall values for engineering designs.

The study focuses on an analysis of the future changes in short-term rainfall in the southwestern region of Slovakia. The analysis was performed for three climatological stations, i.e. Bratislava-Koliba, Gabčíkovo and Sereď, where short-term rainfall intensities with durations of 60 to 1440 minutes were analyzed using historical observations and future regional climate models. The study focuses on detecting changes in rainfall trends and changes in the values of the scaling coefficients. In final, there is a comparison of the design values of short-term rainfall derived for a future horizon with historical observations and the conclusion that rainfall intensities in the region analyzed will increase in the future and that this should be taken into consideration when designing water structures to ensure their safety.

The paper aims to assess the impact of deforestation due to windstorms on runoff in small mountain river basins. In the Boca and Ipoltica River basins, changes in forested areas were assessed from available historical and current digital map data. Significant forest losses occurred between 2004 and 2012. During the whole period of 1990–2018, forested areas in the Boca river decreased from 83% to 47% and in the Ipoltica River basin from 80% to 70%. Changes in runoff conditions were assessed based on an assessment of changes in the measured time series of the hydrometeorological data for the years 1981–2016. An empirical hydrological model was used to determine the design peak discharges before and after significant windstorms were estimated for different rain intensities and return periods. The regional climate scenario for the period 2070–2100 was used to assess the current impact of climate change and river basin deforestation on predicted changes in design floods in the coming decades. The effect of deforestation became evident in the extreme discharges, especially in future decades. In the Boca River basin, the estimated design floods increased by 59%, and in the Ipoltica River basin by 172% in the case of the 100-year return period.

The paper focuses on the changes in runoff caused by changes in land use and climate. The study was performed in the Boca River basin, which is located in the Low Tatra National Park in Slovakia. This area has been affected by several severe windstorms in recent decades, which had a significant impact on the changes in forest cover in the Boca River basin occurred in 2004 (Alžbeta) and 2007 (Kyrill and Filip). The bark beetle outbreak followed these windstorms. The first part of the paper focuses on the changes in runoff caused by changes in land use for the period from 1990 to 2018. The design values of short-term rainfalls from actual observations and Corine Land Cover land use are used for the calculation of design floods. The second part focuses on the changes in runoff caused by climate change. The climate change is represented by data from Regional Climate Model (RCM) scenario. The estimation of runoff change is provided for the period 2070 – 2100. These results are compared with the results from actual observations. The design floods are calculated using the Soil Conservation Service - Curve Number method.

The study is focusing on detecting changes in short-term rainfall at 4 selected climatological stations in the mountainous area in the northern part of Slovakia. The aim of the paper was to detect trends and seasonal changes in the future horizons using the outputs of the Community Land Model (CLM) scenario, which is a moderately pessimistic scenario that compares well to current processes in the atmosphere. The scenario was used to compare historical and simulated future 2070-2100 periods. Finally, the results obtained for the stations from the high mountainous areas, were compared with the results from the southern parts of Slovakia. The results provide an overview of the predicted changes in the seasonality and trends of the short-term rainfall intensities in areas with mountainous climate in Slovakia.