Geografie 2002, 107, 349-370
Meteorological extremes and floods in the Czech Republic - the natural trend or an impact of the global warming?
Meteorological extremes and floods cause every year considerable material damage and losses of human lives. The article summarises the present state of the study of this topic in the Czech Republic. It defines the concept of meteorological extremes and discusses problems of the starting data. The fluctuation of extreme daily precipitation totals, drought, floods and strong winds is illustrated on several examples. The results indicate the ambiguity of the observed trends in connection with the process of the global warming, which, according to the present ideas, should cause the increase in frequencies and intensity of many extremes. The importance of historical-climatological data is stressed for extending the information about meteorological extremes and floods to the period before the beginning of systematic observations. The problem of impacts of meteorological extremes is discussed as well as measures aiming at the minimalization of material damage and victims.
Keywords
meteorological extremes, precipitation, drought, floods, gales, Czech Republic.
Funding
Příspěvek byl vypracován díky finanční podpoře Grantové agentury ČR pro řešení grantu č. 205/01/1067.
