Annual and Decadal Temperature variability in Libya: A comprehensive Analysis (1931-2020)

الملخص

Air temperature is a crucial indicator of the most important and urgent subject i.e. climate change globally, regionally and locally. Thus, Libya's annual mean temperature has been investigated in terms of annual variability and also decadal variability over long time series covering the period 1931-2020. A significant increase  in the annual mean temperature of magnitude 0.9 C ˚ was revealed over the whole period, whereas during the late 1991-2020 period alone, a remarkable 1.16 C ˚ warming has been recorded. The latter warming figure, however has been shown as the prime responsible for the whole period annual mean temperature increase. With respect to decadal variability, despite the streak of six colder than average decades which started from the decade 1931-1940 with (-0.1 C ˚)  and ended at decade 1981-1990 with (-0.2 C ˚) standardized temperature anomaly considering the  reference period (1931-2020), three significant hotter than normal decades have been identified which are 1991-2000, 2001-2010 and 2011-2020 with standardized temperature anomalies (+0.5 C ˚), (+1.6 C ˚) and  (+0.9 C ˚), respectively. In addition to the confirmation of the world wide well documented hot recent era i.e. last 30 year period specifically, results of this study are crucial and very important for decision makers, particularly those in close touch with diverse life sectors e.g. human health, water management, agriculture etc.