Analele Universității din Craiova. Seria Geografie (Jan 2007)
THE PLUVIOMETRIC AND THERMAL REGIME WITHIN THE OLTENIA PLAIN
Abstract
The Oltenia Plain represents the western extremity of the Romanian Plain. The analysis of the temperature and precipitation data (1984-2006) proved certain features of the climate in the region, which differentiate this sector of the Romanian Plain from its central and eastern sectors. At the same time, by comparing our results to the data mentioned in previously published studies, it clearly resulted a change of the thermal and pluviometric regime. Thus, the mean annual temperatures registered an increase, exceeding 11°C within the entire region, not only along the Danube Alluvial Plain, while the mean annual amounts of precipitation are characterized by great fluctuations. In the south-eastern extremity of the plain they are below 500 mm, while in the south-west and north they are close to 600 mm. The calculation of the positive and negative deviations, as well as of the moving averages illustrated the climatic instability of the region and an amplification of the duration and severity of the drought periods. Thus, the increase of the temperature was accompanied by a decrease of the precipitation amounts, tendency characterizing almost the entire analysed interval up to the level of 2005, when the huge quantity of rainfall induced lower temperatures and determined a change of both temperature and precipitation tendency. Even if we cannot speak about a desertification process, due to the short analysed period, our results proved the presence of certain climatic changes, which highly influence all the social-economic activities in the area.
