Nusret Drešković, Edin Hrelja
CLIMATE FLUCTUATIONS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA DURING THE INSTRUMENTAL PERIOD: A CASE STUDY OF SARAJEVO
DOI: 10.35666/28310438.2025.6.36
UDC: 911.2:551.58(397.6Sarajevo) "1888/2023"
The analysis of climate fluctuations in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the instrumental period is essentially based on the examination of variations in average annual temperatures and average annual precipitation sums. These two climatic elements are essentially fundamental expressions of the quantitative and qualitative characteristics in the spatial-temporal dynamics of other climatic elements and thus reflect most of the climatic specifics of a given area.
The Sarajevo-Bjelave meteorological station has a homogeneous dataset of observations and measurements for these two climatic elements from 1888 to the present, which is a representative instrumental period for studying climate fluctuations. This analysis is particularly significant given that the Sarajevo Basin is a true spatial representative of the general climatic features of the mountainous part of Southeastern Europe, and thus can serve as a valuable complement to understanding the scale of climate fluctuations across the entire European continent.
For analyzing fluctuations in the thermal regime, in addition to analyzing mean annual and seasonal averages, the method of moving or progressive temperature averages was used. This method aims to eliminate the shortest-term oscillations related to one-year intervals, while highlighting fluctuations over multi-year periods. Investigations of fluctuations in the annual precipitation regime are also fundamental indicators in the study of climate variations. The analysis of this climatic parameter is based on studying annual and seasonal precipitation sums, with the methodology being identical to that used in the analysis of temperature fluctuations.
The mean annual temperature for the entire instrumental period (1888 to 2023) is 9.8°C, but there are noticeable interannual variations, ranging between 7.71°C (in 1893) and 11,90°C (in 2023). The average secular value of annual precipitation is 918.8 mm, but there is a pronounced dispersion of individual annual precipitation sums around the instrumental average. The lowest average annual precipitation sum of 625.0 mm was recorded in 1926, while the highest annual precipitation maximum of 1534.0 mm was recorded in 1915.
The study also identified cycles with an average duration of 7 to 11 years, with variations in their number and average duration within the thermal and precipitation regimes.
Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina, climate fluctuation, Sarajevo, instrumental monitoring, temperature, precipitation.