Climatology of extreme precipitation from observational records in Greece

Precipitation is widely considered an important parameter and a key indicator of the evolving climate change. The intensity as well as the frequency of precipitation can be largely affected by disturbances of the hydrological cycle as a result of the increasing temperature of the atmosphere and the oceans. Through a variety of statistical methods it is possible to assess changes in precipitation over the recent years both regionally and globally. In this work, precipitation data from seven WMO stations in the Greek region are studied over the period 1990-2020. By analyzing a set of extreme precipitation indices and applying the Sen and Mann-Kendall statistical methods, the trends and statistical significance of precipitation in the area of study are investigated. The results reveal an increase in the yearly number of days with extreme precipitation events as well as in the total amount of precipitation.