The influence of atmospheric circulation over Central Europe on the long-term variability of sunshine duration and air temperature in Poland

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse the influence of atmospheric circulation over Central Europe on the long-term variability of relative sunshine duration (RSD) and air temperature in Poland. The analysis of data from 23 stations located in different parts of the country has made it possible to indicate to what extent the trends of these two climate elements are related to atmospheric circulation and whether they occur throughout the year or only in certain months. To this end, the author's own classification of circulation types was used, which relies on a set of indices related to the velocity and direction of geostrophic flow, as well as total shear vorticity, calculated using a gridded data set of sea-level pressures. The results of the research showed that atmospheric circulation over Central Europe has a significant impact on RSD and air temperature in Poland, but not on their upward trends in recent decades. The increase in the average annual values of both these climate elements was marked in almost every circulation type. This contradicts the assumption of classical synoptic climatology, which assumes that circulation types themselves are usually considered to be constant, i.e. that changes in air temperature can be related only to an increase or decrease in the incidence of the circulation types.