5. Climate of Serbia

There are three types (with several subtypes) of climate in Serbia. According to the Köppen climate classification, the most parts of Serbia have moderately warm and humid climate; on higher altitudes, there is moderately cold and humid climate, whereas only in the parts with the highest mountains, cold and humid climate is represented. As the result of the urban heat island effect, the highest average annual air temperature is in Belgrade the capital of Serbia where it exceeds 12 °С. On the highest peaks of the mountains in the southwest and southeast of the country average annual air temperatures are below 2 °С. Range of absolute minimum and absolute maximum air temperatures is between −39.5 and 44.9 °С. Precipitation amount varies from 550 to 600 mm (mainly in the northern part of the country) to over 1100 mm on the highest mountains in the southwest. In the period from 1961 to 2010, the largest part of Serbia became warmer, but without the statistically significant trend in the received precipitation quantity. Snowfalls are a frequent occurrence in the winter part of the year and vary from 30 to 40 days on the northern lowland to cca 100 days on the highest mountains. On the annual level, the lowest value of insolation (1534.8 h) and the highest cloudiness (6.4) is at the station Požega (western Serbia). The distribution of values of relative humidity during a year is opposite to the distribution of air temperatures in Serbia (Belgrade has the lowest value of 68.6% on an annual scale). The most significant wind on the territory of Serbia is košava which can reach a speed up to 48 m/s.