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The total glacial area of the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, has shrunk by more than 30% in the period of 1930 to the present with a marked glacier retreat also in the recent decades. The aim of this paper is to assess local air temperature and precipitation changes in the Cordillera Blanca and to discuss how these variables could have affected the observed glacier retreat between the 1980s and present. A unique data set from a large number of stations in the region of the Cordillera Blanca shows that after a strong air temperature rise of about 0.31°C per decade between 1969 and 1998, a slowdown in the warming to about 0.13°C per decade occurred for the 30years from 1983 to 2012. Additionally, based on data from a long-term meteorological station, it was found that the freezing line altitude during precipitation days has probably not increased significantly in the last 30years. We documented a cooling trend for maximum daily air temperatures and an increase in precipitation of about 60mm/decade since the early 1980s. The strong increase in precipitation in the last 30years probably did not balance the increase of temperature before the 1980s. It is suggested that recent changes in temperature and precipitation alone may not explain the glacial recession within the thirty years from the early 1980s to 2012. Glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca may be still reacting to the positive air temperature rise before 1980. Especially small and low-lying glaciers are characterised by a serious imbalance and may disappear in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reviews all available stable isotopic data concerning precipitation and spring water in Greece, from the 1960s until today. Spatial variability is investigated in order to provide basic information and identify the locally significant parameters that affect isotopic distributions. The area of interest was partitioned into eight sections according to geographical location and climatic characteristics. The distance of the station from the sea and the altitude are the main factors imprinted in the isotopic signature of precipitation. Local meteoric water meteoric line (LMWL) for precipitation and spring water were calculated for each section and for Greece as a whole. Precipitation LMWLs differ from the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL) in various ways across Greece. Elevated deuterium excess values are observed, probably due to water vapour originating from the Aegean or the Mid-eastern Mediterranean. Spring LMWLs are more or less consistent throughout the country. Furthermore, a high resolution map of precipitation and freshwater spring (Cl− <200ppm and T <25°C) δ 18O reveals several interesting features such as an orographic shadow effect induced by the Pindos Mountains, a strong climatic signal in southern Greece and a local city-microclimate effect around Athens. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper summarises activities within a broad-based research program for the reconstruction of the evolution of Italian climate in the twentieth century.The main result of the program is that Italian climate is becoming warmer and drier. The decrease of precipitation depends on the reduction in the number of wet days, as precipitation intensity displays a positive trend. Moreover, there is a tendency both toward an increase of heavy precipitation events and long dry spells.Most of the observed signals appear to be due to changes in atmospheric circulation causing an increase in the frequency of subtropical anticyclones over the western Mediterranean basin. This hypothesis is also supported by the evolution of Italian total cloud amount in the 1951–1996 period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]