Climate Change in Austria: Precipitation and Dry Spells over the last 60 years

TL;DR

This study analyzes Austria's precipitation and dry spell changes over 60 years using high-resolution modeling that considers topography, revealing significant shifts in precipitation patterns and dry spell durations crucial for climate adaptation.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed, topography-aware high-resolution model to detect localized climate change impacts on precipitation and dry spells in Austria.

Findings

Mean precipitation declined early in the year but increased in March, September, and October.

Dry spell durations extended significantly in winter and early summer, especially in southern regions.

Maximum daily precipitation amounts increased in late summer and autumn.

Abstract

This study unveils localised changes in Austria's precipitation patterns, often missed by broader assessments, by comparing the 1961-1990 and 1991-2020 climate normal periods on a high resolution 2x2 km grid. Our extended model explicitly accounts for diverse topographical influences, including slope, aspect, and a monthly-varying elevation effect, when analysing monthly normals of mean precipitation and maximum daily sums, as well as maximum dry spell lengths. We found that while mean precipitation generally declined early in the year, it notably increased in March, September, and October (up to +50%). In contrast, the maximum duration of dry spells extended significantly in January, February, and June, particularly in the southern regions (up to +30%). Maximum daily precipitation amounts surged in late summer and autumn (up to +30%). This research offers a transferable modelling approach for understanding critical shifts, vital for climate adaptation both within Austria and globally.