Contribution to the study of climate change in Serbia using continentality, oceanity, and aridity indices

The aim of the study is to present some specific climatic conditions on the territory of the Republic of Serbia based on the analysis of four climate indices, which can help in understanding contemporary climate changes. Temperature and precipitation data from 31 meteorological stations for the period 1951–2010 were used. The relative homogeneity of the data series was done using the MASH v3.02 method. The indices used are: Johansson Continentality Index, Kerner Oceanity Index, De Martonne Aridity Index, and Pinna Combinative Index. Geospatial analysis of the distribution of the values of the four mentioned indices was done using the QGIS package 2.8.1. The results of the research show that the continentality effect is present in most of Serbia, while oceanity is observed locally, mainly in the western and southwestern parts of the country. The further analysis showed that there is no dry and semi–dry Mediterranean climate in Serbia. Considering that it is dry in the warmest part of the year (July–September), when the need for water is increased, which is clearly shown by the Walter climate diagram, as well as the fact that an increase in temperature and a decrease in precipitation during the vegetation period were observed in the second 30–year period (1981–2010), it can be concluded that in Serbia there is a tendency towards arid climate. The results presented in this paper can help decision makers to plan certain climate change adaptation measures.