Abstract
Spatial and temporal variability in daily maximum and mean average daily temperature, monthly maximum and mean average monthly temperature for nine coastal stations during the period 1956–2009 (54 years), and annual maximum and mean average temperature for coastal and inland stations for the period 1945–2009 (65 years) across Libya are analysed. During the period 1945–2009, significant increases in maximum temperature (0.017 °C/year) and mean average temperature (0.021 °C/year) are identified at most stations. Significantly, warming in annual maximum temperature (0.038 °C/year) and mean average annual temperatures (0.049 °C/year) are observed at almost all study stations during the last 32 years (1978–2009). The results show that Libya has witnessed a significant warming since the middle of the twentieth century, which will have a considerable impact on societies and the ecology of the North Africa region, if increases continue at current rates.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the Libyan government as a part of a PhD thesis undertaken at the University of Liverpool. The authors are grateful to the LNMC for providing them with the Libyan meteorological station data. Thanks are also extended to Mrs Sandra Mather and Suzanne Yee, Graphics Unit, School of Environmental Sciences for illustrations. We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful and helpful comments.
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Ageena, I., Macdonald, N. & Morse, A.P. Variability of maximum and mean average temperature across Libya (1945–2009). Theor Appl Climatol 117, 549–563 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-1012-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-1012-z