Changes in drought occurrence and intensity in the context of climate change in Slovakia

Drought is a natural phenomenon that occurred in Central Europe in the past, but it is becoming a more serious problem due to the changes in its occurrence and intensity related to climate change. The main aim of this paper was to determine changes in air temperature and precipitation amounts in Slovakia from 1931 to 2020 and to identify changes in drought occurrence and intensity using the Standardized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). Cluster analysis was used to determine regions with similar drought occurrences. For each of the identified five clusters, drought characteristics were determined and compared between two reference periods 1961 – 1990 and 1991 – 2020. We found out interesting results in timing of drought, which affect sectors such as agriculture or forestry. 

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Labudová, L., Ivaňáková, G., Faško, P., Kajaba, P., Labuda, M. Changes in drought occurrence and intensity in the context of climate change in Slovakia. Theor Appl Climatol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-024-04864-3