Climate warming in Uzbekistan exceeds global average

An analysis of the change in the average annual air temperature from the beginning of observations up to 2019 inclusively showed that warming trends are evident in all climatic zones of Uzbekistan, and the rate of temperature increase is significantly higher than the average rate observed on a global scale.

According to weather forecasters, the highest rate of increase in average annual air temperatures was noted in large cities, probably due to the additional effect of urbanization (Tashkent, Samarkand, Fergana). The lowest rate on average annual temperature growth was observed in the mountainous regions of the republic.

The average air temperatures over the last decade (2010-2019) and the last five years (2015-2019) were the highest compared to the previous 10-year and 5-year periods for the whole series of meteorological observations in almost all regions of Uzbekistan.

In 2019, the average annual temperature for most of the territory was 1.6-2.3° higher than normal, in the Aral Sea region and the desert zone, it was 2.9-3.1° higher than average. Only in the mountainous regions of the republic the rate of deviation of the average annual temperature did not exceed the global norm and recorded at 0.5-0.9°.

It is noted that in Uzbekistan, 2019 was the second warmest year in the history of meteorological observations.

The warmest year in the history of observations in the republic is 2016. Climatologists explain this by a combination of two factors – a very powerful El Niño phenomenon that leads to warming, and long-term climate change.

One of the indicators of climate warming is a steady tendency toward an increase in the number of days with air temperatures of 40° and above in all regions of Uzbekistan. 

At the same time, in the summer of 2019, an abnormally long duration of hot weather was observed in all regions of the republic. The number of days with an air temperature of 40° and above significantly exceeded the long-term average and even the average of 2016.