Air temperature variability of the Hrubý Jeseník and Králický Sněžník Mountains peaks

Air temperature is one of the most significant meteorological variables. Reconstruction of air temperature is necessary to analyse temperature variability during the recent global warming. So far, significant attention has been paid to the study of air temperature variability in Central European mountain regions. However, only minimum studies dealt with the Hrubý Jeseník and Králický Sněžník Mountains (the Czech-Polish border, northern Moravia). The paper aims to reconstruct mean, maximal and minimal air temperatures of four mountain stations above 1 000 m a. s. l. in the Jeseníky and Králický Sněžník Mountains between 1961–2020 and reveal the possible trends. To compile a consistent input dataset both in time and space, input data for the interpolation underwent thorough data quality control, homogenisation and filling of missing data. Input values were interpolated employing regression kriging via the SoilClim model into maps in 500m spatial resolution on a daily scale. Short-term temperature series had been reconstructed back to 1961 and consequently compared to Vysoká hole station (1463 m a. s. l.). Statistical significant increasing 10year annual and seasonal temperature trends were proved in the 1961–2020 period. However, the temperature of mountain peaks of the Hrubý Jeseník and Králický Sněžník within 10year annual trend increased slower in comparison with lowlands (0.3°C, respectively 0.4°C). The results highlight the importance of air temperature analysis in the mountain regions and contribute to a better understanding of temperature variability in the recent global warming.