Spatial and Temporal Changes of Diurnal Temperature Range in Greece—The Urban Effect

Abstract

Diurnal Temperature Range (DTR), defined as the difference between the daily maximum (Tmax) and daily minimum (Tmin) air temperature, has received considerable attention as an important indicator of climate change. In the present study, we analyse long-term highly homogenized DTR data from 51 Greek stations and investigate their spatiotemporal changes. The long-term temporal changes of DTR revealed mixed patterns with both increasing and decreasing trends over the study period and distinct seasonal differentiations. DTR pattern in Athens has fluctuated since the beginning of the twentieth century, generally following warming and cooling air temperature trends. After the mid-1980s, DTR showed a pronounced decreasing trend at a rate of 0.47 °C/decade in summer (p min, suggesting the combined effects of regional warming and urbanization levels.

Keywords

• climate change
• regional warming
• diurnal temperature range
• Greece
• trend
• urban heat island