MICHALIS SIOUTAS, TANJA PORJA
Abstract :
The Balkan region is expected to face significant climate changes with far- reaching impacts on the region’s human societies, natural resources, agriculture and ecosystems. An assessment of two primary climate indicators, namely temperature and precipitation, is carried out in this study for Greece and Albania by examining a long-term temperature and precipitation time series of the European Centre for Medium Weather Forecast Reanalysis v.5 (ERA5) data set for the 45-year period 1979-2023. Annual and monthly distributions and trends are examined at prefectural and regional scales to provide geographically representative assessments for the two countries. Spatio-temporal temperature patterns show a consistent increasing trend, which is more pronounced in the continental interior of both countries. Rainfall distributions show increasing trends, mainly due to increasing rainfall intensity, but also indicate periods of reduced rainfall or drought. The results of the observed changes are consistent with climate change projections. Other analyses included storm frequency patterns based on various sources, including lightning data. Monitoring these indicators helps us to better understand and address the challenges and impacts of climate change on ecosystems and people, and to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Keywords : Climate change, extreme weather, temperature, rainfall, Greece, Albania.