Modern Climate Change in the Black Sea Region

Abstract

Topicality. Climate change in the Black Sea region in recent decades poses certain risks to the econo-mies of countries of region, and may have a significant negative impact on the state of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The main areas of economic activity in the Black Sea are maritime freight, oil and gas production and transportation, industrial extraction of marine biological resources, recreational and tourist activities in coastal areas, etc. The Black Sea significantly affects the climate of the south-eastern part of the European continent, forming regional climatic features in the area. The development of measures to adapt to climate change requires the collection and analysis of data on the state of the climate system and the current characteristics of their interaction and feedback. Purpose. The purpose of this work is to review and analyze information on regional climate change observed in recent decades to find patterns and possible links with the variability of the hydrological regime of the Black Sea. Results. This paper contains information on the main climatic characteristics of the Black Sea region, such as air temperature, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, as well as indicators of cyclonic activity. Conclusions. In recent decades, the Black Sea region has seen an increase in air temperature caused by changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation, in the form of increased recurrence of anticyclonic processes, leading to a decrease in clouds and an increase in shortwave radiation entering the underlying surface. At the same time, since the mid-2000s, the increase in average annual air temperature has increased. The average annual rainfall is maintained in most parts of the region, with the exception of the eastern part of the Black Sea coast of Turkey and the coastal areas of Georgia, where there is an increase in both rainfall and the frequency of extreme rainfall. At the same time, there is some increase in both the intensity and amount of winter precipitation over the Black Sea. Wind speeds in the Black Sea region as a whole show a decrease in their values, with some increase in the western part of the Black Sea, which is also associated with changes in the peculiarities of circulating processes that develop over South-Eastern Europe.