Changes of extreme precipitation in Southern Russia

Abstract

Features of extreme precipitation and their long-term changes over Southern Russia were analysed in the paper using daily precipitation data from 21 hydrometeorological stations in 1950 - 2010. Two climate indices for extreme precipitation (RX1day and RX5day) and concentration index data series for the study period were calculated and analysed. It was defined that precipitation extreme changes are characterized by spatial and temporal variability. It was found the tendency to wetter in extreme anomalies, however, the trends are mainly negligible. Spatial distribution of precipitation concentrations demonstrates that the northern, southern and western regions are characterized by moderate values, while the coast of the Caspian Sea and the territory of Caspian Depression has shown high values of CI.