Thermal environment and UV-B radiation indices in the Vojvodina region, Serbia

Abstract

CR Climate Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials CR 57:111-121 (2013) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01163 Thermal environment and UV-B radiation indices in the Vojvodina region, Serbia S. Malinovic-Milicevic1,*, D. T. Mihailovic2, B. Lalic2, N. Dreskovic3 1ACIMSI, University Center for Meteorology and Environmental Modelling, University of Novi Sad, Dositeja Obradovica Sq. 5, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia 2Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Dositeja Obradovica Sq. 8, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia 3Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geography, University of Sarajevo, Zmaj from Bosnia 33-35, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina *Email: slavicans@neobee.net ABSTRACT: We considered thermal environment and UV-B radiation indices in the Vojvodina region, Serbia. We derived an empirical formula for estimating the daily sum of the UV-B from global radiation and used this formula to reconstruct the UV-B radiation pattern for 1981–2008. We describe the actual climate conditions for the period 1992-2008. In addition, we applied a statistical downscaling technique on ECHAM5 outputs under the A2 scenario to assess the 2040 climate. The results indicate that a warmer and drier climate in the Vojvodina region can be expected because of the following evidence: an increase in the mean annual temperature (8.6 to 12.3%) and in the frequency of hot days (29.4 to 50%); a decrease in the mean annual precipitation (8.1 to 14.2%) and in the frequency of cold days (11.8 to 27.8%); a higher increase in the mean temperature for the colder period (24.9%) than for the hotter one (6.7%); and a reduction in precipitation during the growing season (15.7%). We have analyzed the thermal environment for the period 1992-2008 using the wind chill index and the heat index for the winter (December to February) and summer (June to August) periods. In all places, the heat index has a tendency for growth. We determined an increase in the daily UV-B dose in an amount of 3.7% per decade. Even though there is some evidence indicating ozone stabilization, there are no signs of a significant recovery of ozone layer thickness, so it can be expected that UV-B dose levels will remain high in the future. KEY WORDS: Thermal environment · UV radiation · Climate change · Heat index · Wind chill index · Vojvodina region · Serbia Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Malinovic-Milicevic S, Mihailovic DT, Lalic B, Dreskovic N (2013) Thermal environment and UV-B radiation indices in the Vojvodina region, Serbia. Clim Res 57:111-121. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01163 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in CR Vol. 57, No. 2. Online publication date: August 20, 2013 Print ISSN: 0936-577X; Online ISSN: 1616-1572 Copyright © 2013 Inter-Research.