Climate variability in the summer of 2020 in south-west Romania in the context of climate change

Abstract

Globally, 2020 ended the warmest decade since the beginning of the measurements (WMO), and the warmest year was 2016, marked by a strong and intense El Ñino. In Oltenia the warmest year was 2019 with the average for the whole region of 12.4°C and the deviation from normal of 2.5°C, followed by 2020 with the general average of 12.2°C and the deviation from normal of 2.3°C. After the 2019- 2020 warm winter, which was the second Mediterranean winter in southern Romania, followed the normal thermal spring in which climatic anomalies were frequent. The summer of 2020 was warm and marked by great climate variability, given by the presence of a weak La Ñina climate process. Since June, the average temperature is normal and unstable, the climatic alternations and the progressive increase of the air temperature, determined that in August the weather will be the warmest during the summer and an intense heat wave occurred at the end of the month with the peak on 1.IX.2020.The paper analyses special climate variability in the summer of 2020, which is the continuation of an extensive series of works on climate variability and climate change in southwestern Romania (I. Marinică 2006, I. Marinică, Andreea Floriana, 2016, 2020). The paper is useful to all those interested in climate variability and climate change in this part of Romania.

Keywords

• drought
• heat
• climate risks
• heat waves