Geographia Polonica (2000) vol. 73, iss. 2

Trends to changes in seasonal aspects of the climate in Poland

Krzysztof Kożuchowski, Jan Degirmendżić, Krzysztof Fortuniak, Joanna Wibig

Geographia Polonica (2000) vol. 73, iss. 2, pp. 7-24 | Full text

The study details the results of a search for changes in the annual rhythms for atmospheric pressure, air temperature and precipitation in Poland in the 19th and 20th cen-turies. In regard to atmospheric pressure, a reduction in the component amplitude of the annual cycle was noted. Values for annual amplitude of temperature exhibited a downward trend, as did data for the lengths of the seasons with temperatures below zero or in excess of 19°C. In turn, there was an upward trend for the duration of periods with temperatures several degrees above freezing or in the range 14-19°C. The most marked long-term upward trend to temperature was that noted for the five days 11-15 January, which have seen temperatures rise by as much as 4°C in the last decade. Annual courses for precipitation have demonstrated development of the half-year cyclical component responsible for relatively high winter pre-cipitation. Analysis of several time series has allowed for the deducing of decreasing con-tinentality of climate in Poland, a marked warming in the winter-spring period and a general weakening of seasonal contrasts regarding the climate.

Keywords: changes in air temperature and precipitation

Krzysztof Kożuchowski [kkozuchowski1@wp.pl], Department of Environment Dynamics and Bioclimatology, University of Łódź, Lipowa 81, 90-568 Łódź, Poland
Jan Degirmendżić, Department of Environmental Dynamics and Bioclimatology, Faculty of Biology and Earth Science, University of Lodz Lipowa 81, 90-568 Łódź, Poland
Krzysztof Fortuniak [krzysztof.fortuniak@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Zakład Meteorologii i Klimatologii, Uniwersytet Łódzki, Lipowa 81, 90-568 Łódź, Poland
Joanna Wibig, Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Faculty of Biology and Earth Science, University of Lodz Lipowa 81, 90-568 Łódź, Poland