Authors: P T Nastos A P Matzarakis
Publish Date: 2007/10/12
Volume: 93, Issue: 1-2, Pages: 75-89
Abstract
Tropical days TD are defined as the days with a maximum air temperature greater than 300 °C It is clear that the study of TD includes also the absolute maximum temperatures which are of great interest for the description of a region’s climate These days are considered as very hot and they particularly are of great importance not only for bioclimatology and applied sciences but also for the individuals who are sensitive in the heatstress The regime of the TD in Greece is the focus of this study The aim is to demonstrate their changes from decade to decade for the time period 1960–2000 For this study the Annual Number of Tropical Days ANTD recorded by each of the 26 meteorological stations of National Meteorological Service which are uniformly distributed in the Hellenic peninsula was calculated and analysedThe trends of the TD for each station were analysed through the Mann–Kendall technique while the spatial distribution per decade reveals the regions with change increase or decrease in the ANTD during the examined period Two characteristic periods of change for the ANTD appear in the majority of the meteorological stations in Greece The first period 1955–1976 is determined by a negative trend which is statistically significant cl 95 for adequate stations In the period between 1976 and 2000 the increase in the ANTD and the maximum temperature exceed the corresponding maximum that appeared in the beginning of the 1950s for several of the examined meteorological stations
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