Climate fluctuations in the Czech Republic during the period 1961–2005

Abstract

This article addresses climatic fluctuations in the Czech Republic in the period . On the basis of data collected at 23 climatological stations, the fluctuations in monthly, seasonal, and annual series of selected climate variables, homogenized by means of Standard Normal Homogeneity Test (SNHT) (after Alexandersson), are analysed. With almost unchanging temperature continentality expressed by the Gorczyński index, the annual series of mean air temperature, maximum and minimum temperature, daily temperature range, and sunshine duration all exhibit a rising linear trend, in contrast to dropping trends in relative air humidity, number of days with snow cover, and mean wind speed. There are no pronounced changes in precipitation totals, although their distribution over the course of the year becomes more regular in terms of the Markham seasonality index. Temperature trends, with the exception of autumn, show a clear enhancement since the 1980s; statistically significant rising trends occur for only spring, summer and the year in a good agreement with the Northern Hemisphere series. Linkage to fluctuation in the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) is best expressed by the Czech temperature characteristics for January, February, and winter (in similar fashion to that for the number of days with snow cover), which can be ascribed to intensification of the western airflow over Central Europe. On the other hand, linkage to NAOI for precipitation is essentially weaker, because of the role of synoptic processes in influencing the occurrence of precipitation at the regional scale. Better relationships for temperature variables and wind speed are obtained if the Central European Zonal Index (CEZI) is used instead of NAOI as an indicator of circulation patterns in Central Europe.

Precipitation Trends over Slovakia in the Period 1981–2013

“…The mean annual precipitation distribution in Slovakia, with a maximum value recorded in June and a minimum value recorded in February, coincides with the findings of other researchers studying precipitation distribution over central and eastern Europe [78,79]. From the spatial point of view, the maximum annual precipitation amounts were recorded in the mountainous areas, and the minimum amounts in the southeastern and southwestern lowlands of Slovakia (Figure 3).…”

Changes in terrestrial near-surface wind speed and their possible causes: an overview

“…2a). An SWS decrease at a rate of − 0.1 m s −1 decade −1 from 1961 to 2005 was recorded in the Czech Republic, and the most distinct decrease in the monthly mean SWS was found in November, with a decreasing rate of − 0.2 m s −1 decade −1 (Brazdil et al 2009 Vautard et al (2012Vautard et al ( ) 3.5 (1981Vautard et al ( -2010Vautard et al ( ) − 0.077 (1981 1379 Tobin et al (2014Tobin et al ( ) 3.5 (1981Tobin et al ( -2010Tobin et al ( ) − 0.082 (1981Tobin et al ( -2014 1423 Berrisford et al (2015Berrisford et al ( ) 3.309 (1981Berrisford et al ( -2010 − 0. 087 (1979-2015) 2264 Dunn et al (2016) Europe -− 0.09 (1979-2010 276 Vautard et al (2010) 3.9 (1981) − 0.086 (1981) 410 Vautard et al (2012) 3.8 (1981-2013) − 0.072 (1981-2013 488 Tobin et al (2014Tobin et al ( ) 3.845 (1981Tobin et al ( -2014Tobin et al ( ) − 0.086 (1981Tobin et al ( -2014 522 Berrisford et al (2015Berrisford et al ( ) 3.747 (1981Berrisford et al ( -2010 − 0.…”

“…During the period of 1961-2005, the most significant reduction in SWS (− 0.1 m s −1 decade −1 ) occurred in winter in the Czech Republic (Brazdil et al 2009), and an increase in the frequency of lower SWSs was matched by a decrease in the frequency of higher SWSs during the warm season (i.e., April-June) and cold season (i.e., October to March) in northern France from 1974 to 2002 (Najac et al 2009). , respectively, and greater decreases in the U component are observed at higher observation heights .…”

Recent Change—Atmosphere

“…A number of studies show similar warming trends for areas of the Baltic Sea basin and its vicinity: Finland (Tietäväinen et al 2009 (Brázdil et al 2009), Latvia Klavinš and Rodinov 2010), Estonia (Kont et al 2007(Kont et al , 2011Russak 2009) and for the three Baltic countries together (Kriauciuniene et al 2012). Long and homogeneous time series of spatial mean air temperature were created for Finland covering 1847-2008 (Tietäväinen et al 2009).…”