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Research Journal of Environmental Sciences

Year: 2008 | Volume: 2 | Issue: 5 | Page No.: 316-322
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Authors

Elias Soltani

Afshin Soltani

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Research Article

Climatic Changes of Khorasan, North-East of Iran, During 1950-2004

Elias Soltani and Afshin Soltani
The objective of this study was to evaluate the trends in historical temperature and precipitation measurements of Khorasan, Northeast of Iran. The selected sites included Bojnord (37°28` N, 57°19` E and 1091 m asl), Mashhad (36°16` N, 59°38` E and 999.2 m asl) and Birjand (32°52` N, 59°12` E and 1491 m asl). Linear regression analyses were used to determine the trends (slopes) in environmental variables, including monthly and yearly values of precipitation and maximum and minimum temperatures, over the years. While a clear detection of a warming trend as a consequence of greenhouse effect was difficult, the following results were obtained. Minimum temperature (0.29°C/decade) at Bojnord and both minimum (0.45°C/decade) and maximum (0.24°C/decade) temperatures at Mashhad indicated significant positive trend. The positive trend for minimum temperature at Bojnord and Mashhad could be ascribed to greenhouse effect. In Mashhad, vast urbanization and industrialization during the past decades was considered as another reason for positive trend in minimum as well as maximum temperature. At Birjand, however, the opposite was observed and negative trends were detected for both minimum (-0.23°C/decade) and maximum (-0.26°C/decade) temperatures probably as a result of aerosols production due to prolonged natural drought in the adjacent province, Sistan and Baluchestan, during the past decades. There was not a considerable trend in precipitation in monthly or yearly scales.
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