Modern Climate Changes in the North Caucasus Region

Abstract

This article is devoted to the analysis of changes in the air temperature and precipitation regimes in various climatic zones of the North Caucasus region. Time series of seasonal and annual temperatures in the surface layer of the atmosphere and precipitation for the period 1976–2019 were used to study climate change. It was found that in all climatic zones of the North Caucasus region there was a significant increasing in average annual and seasonal temperatures, especially during the summer season. The change in precipitation regime is not as obvious as the change in temperature. In all climatic zones, both an increase and a decrease in seasonal precipitation, mostly statistically insignificant, were observed. The trend resistance of meteorological parameters was assessed using the normalized range method and its quantitative indicator—the Hurst index. The Hurst index, calculated for the average seasonal temperatures and sum of precipitation, showed a high probability of persistence of the trends, especially for summer temperatures and autumn sum precipitation.