Climatic extremes in Serbia: Definitions, types and classification

Abstract

Climatic extremes as negative events are named to be one of the major problems of humankind today. Still, their complex and systematic study is missing - they are studied only as an 'attachment' to the problem of contemporary climate changes. Number of terms is used arbitrarily, such as climatic extremes and extreme climate events. From the geographical perspective, there is a need to define extremes and classify them at first, and only then to establish criteria for their identification, to link the problem to the geographical base, etc. There should be a specific approach for every area on Earth. In this work 31 extreme climate events have been isolated and defined, and all of them, according to their specific characteristics and their harmfulness, have been classified into 5 categories. Systematic geographical studies of these events could intensify the fight against atmospheric hazards in Serbia and help the system of insurance of people and material goods. There should be regulations that would include precise definitions of all hazards with precise borders of the harmfulness of the event, then the assessment of the possible endangerment and the possibility of protection in certain regions, etc.

Klimatski ekstremi kao nepovoljne pojave danas se svrstavaju među najveće probleme čovečanstva. Ipak, nedostaje njihovo kompleksno i sistematsko proučavanje, a ne kao 'privezak' problemu savremenih promena klime. Mnogi termini se koriste proizvoljno, kao klimatski ekstremi i ekstremne klimatske pojave. Sa aspekta geografije postoji potreba prvo za definisanjem ekstrema i njihovom klasifikacijom, a tek onda za uspostavljanjem kriterijuma za njihovo identifikovanje, za povezivanje problema sa geografskom osnovom itd. Za svaki prostor na Zemlji neophodan je specifičan pristup. U radu je izdvojena i definisana ukupno 31 ekstremna klimatska pojava u Srbiji i sve su na osnovu specifičnosti i stepena štetnosti svrstane u 5 kategorija. Sistematska geografska proučavanja ovih pojava bi mogla intenzivirati borbu protiv atmosferskih nepogoda u Srbiji i pomoći sistem osiguranja ljudi i materijalnih dobara. U okvirima regulativa morale bi da se nalaze precizne definicije svih nepogoda sa preciznim granicama štetnosti pojave, zatim procene moguće ugroženosti i mogućnosti zaštite u pojedinim regionima i sl.