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Bożena Pius

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Changes in the thermal regime of rivers in Poland with different sizes and levels of human impact based on daily data (1961-2020)

Przemysław Tomalski, Bożena Pius, Paweł Jokiel, Włodzimierz Marszelewski

Geographia Polonica (2025) vol. 98, iss. 1, pp. 29-52
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0291

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Abstract

The article examines thermal parameters of rivers during climate warming, focusing on quasi-natural rivers and those heavily impacted by humans. It compares two periods (1961-1992 and 1993-2020) based on daily water temperatures. Results show rivers warmed by 0.7-1.0°C in the second period, except those strongly polluted, like the Przemsza River, which cooled by up to -1.2°C. In quasi-natural rivers, the largest temperature rise occurred in spring (up to 3.5°C). In contrast, heavily impacted rivers showed lower, often negative changes. The study highlights the impact of climate warming and human activity on river thermal regime.

Keywords: river thermal regime, climate change, water temperature fluctuations

Przemysław Tomalski [przemyslaw.tomalski@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Łódź Narutowicza 68, 90-139 Łódź: Poland
Bożena Pius [bpius@umk.pl], Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
Paweł Jokiel [pawel.jokiel@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Łódź Narutowicza 68, 90-139 Łódź: Poland
Włodzimierz Marszelewski [marszel@umk.pl], Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń: Poland