The dynamics to selected extreme climatic events in Poland

Abstract

The article presents the variability to selected extreme climatic phenomena in Poland in the second half of the 20th century. The main attention is paid to the search for exceptional values for indicators or trends that might be regarded as effects of global warm-ing. Among the circulation indicators considered are the variability to the influx of Arctic and tropical air masses in the period 1951-1999, as well as the numbers of days with fronts. In turn, elaborated for the period 1966-1999 was the variability in absolute maxima and minima for pressure, as well as extreme values for pressure tendency, and the occurrence of very strong winds. The greatest changes were found to have occurred in the case of extremes of temperature: from 1982 onwards in the case of absolute maxima and from 1973 on in the case of absolute minima and amplitudes of temperature. These generally attest to an increase in the oceanicity of the Polish climate. In the case of extreme precipitation events, a transition to a rather wetter phase of climate has been noted since 1995. However, there is no sign of any departure for any of the elements studied that has exceeded the values typical for fluctuations of climate in the 20th century, and could therefore be taken as indicating a per-manent change in the climate.