Vol 43, No 8 (2018)

The statistical scheme is proposed for the forecast of surface air temperature and humidity using operative weather forecasts with 3–5-day lead time from the best forecasting hydrodynamic models as well as the archives of forecasts of these models and observational data from 2800 weather stations of Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. The output of the scheme includes the forecasts of air temperature for the standard observation moments with the period of 6 hours and extreme temperatures with the lead times of 12–120 hours. The accuracy of temperature and humidity forecasts for the period from July 2014 till June 2017 is much higher than that for the forecasts of original hydrodynamic models. The skill scores for extreme temperature forecasts based on the proposed method are compared with the similar results of the Weather Element Computation (WEC) forecasting scheme and forecasts by weathermen.

The peculiarities of the generation of infragravity sea waves with the periods from 30 s to 5 minutes are identified by the processing and analysis of experimental data obtained with the laser meter of hydrosphere pressure variations in the Vityaz’ Bay (the Sea of Japan).

Changes in annual total precipitation and annual pan evaporation for the Lake Khanka water area during the period of 1949–2015 are analyzed based on observational data of weather stations within the lake basin. The reliability of the calculated values of characteristics affecting evaporation changes was confirmed by their comparison with observations at the 20-m² evaporation pan installed at Astrakhanka lake station. It is shown that against a background of significant interannual fluctuations of annual precipitation during the whole period under study, its trends are almost absent. However, a rather stable increase in annual precipitation value caused by the summer precipitation rise has been noted since the early 2000s. The value of annual pan evaporation decreased from 1949 to 2015, and the rate of its decrease till 1980 was higher than in the next period. Moreover, some evaporation increase has been observed in the recent decade. The main contribution to the evaporation change is made by wind speed changes which cause about 50% of evaporation variance. Air humidity deficit is the second affecting factor that determines a little over 20% of annual evaporation variance. It is demonstrated that the increase in annual precipitation is possible by the middle of the 21st century, while the change in annual evaporation from the Lake Khanka water area would be minimal. Under such changes in the main components of the lake water regime, no reduction of its level due to natural climate processes should be expected.

One of the most important effects of climate change is changes in the water regime and the frequency of flood occurrence. The Karun catchment is one of the most important Iran catchments, but it has never been studied specifically. This study considers the effect of climate change on the annual and the maximum runoff of the Karun catchment in the Shalu bridge area. First, temperature and monthly precipitation of the HadCM3 model were downscaled based on three scenarios, AlB, A2, and B1, ustng the LARS-WG model. Then data were spatially downscaled based on the change factor model, and the SRM model was used to simulate runoff. The results show that the climate change affects the water regime of this catchment.

The review is compiled on the basis of the results of the operation of the total ozone (TO) monitoring in Russia and adjoining territories that functions in the operational mode at the Central Aerological Observatory (CAO). The monitoring system uses data from the national network equipped with M-124 filter ozonometers being under the methodological supervision of the Main Geophysical Observatory. The quality of the functioning of the entire system is operationally controlled based on the OMI satellite equipment observations (NASA, USA). Basic TO observation data are generalized for each month of the second quarter of 2018 and for the second quarter. The data of routine observations of surface ozone values in the Moscow region and Crimea are also considered.

The original article can be found online at 10.3103/S1068373918060092.