Long-Term Patterns and Trends of Shortwave Global Irradiance over the Euro-Mediterranean Region

Abstract

The spatiotemporal patterns and trends of shortwave global irradiance (SWGI) are a crucial factor affecting not only the climate but also sectors of the economy. In this work, the ERA5-Land reanalysis dataset is employed and evaluated against in situ measurements from a dense network of surface stations operated by the National Observatory of Athens over Greece, revealing a good agreement between the two datasets. Then, the spatiotemporal variability of SWGI is investigated over the Euro-Mediterranean region (10° W–42° E and 30° N–52° N) for a 40-year period (1981–2020). SWGI exhibits a smooth latitudinal variability from north to south of −5.4 W/m2/degree on an annual scale, while it varies significantly on a seasonal basis and is almost four times lower in the winter than in the summer. The SWGI trend during the analyzed period was found to be positive and statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Spring and summer are the periods where positive and the strongest rates of SWGI trends are evident, while in the winter and autumn, negative or neutral trends were found. The increasing SWGI trend shows a slowdown during the beginning of the 2000s in all seasons, except autumn. The SWGI trend decreases by about −0.06 W/m2/decade every 100 m of elevation increase.