Increasing frequency and intensity of the extreme weather events in Romania such as the severe drought of 2000 or the devastating floods of 2005 are a direct consequence of global warming, says a top meteorologist in Romania.

Ion Sandu, the director of the National Administration of Meteorology explains in an interview for HotNews.ro some of the reasons for which he considers 2007 to be the hottest in the Romanian history.

On the one hand, Sandu says that in Romania there’s a long term tendency (30 years) regarding the decrease of precipitations, especially in the Southern part of the country. Besides these tendencies, there are, Sandu argues, rainy periods which are a natural tendency of the climate.

On the other hand, he warns that the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme events (such as the 2000 severe drought or the devastating floods of 2005 that affected many Romanian counties) is a direct consequence of global warming.

Sandu says that, even though one cannot predict climate changes on the long term, the National Administration of Meteorology has undergone various studies regarding the characteristics of the climate variabilities in Romania. Plus, the Institute collaborates with similar institutions in the EU to predict climate changes for the next decades.

When talking about global warming, Ion Sandu cites the 4th report of the Intergovernmental Committee for Climate Change, approved in 2007, which states that global warming phenomena will continue in the future even though its impact differs in regions.

Global warming is determined by both natural (variation of the sun energy, regional distribution of the land and water) and arficial factors (such as changes in the composition of the athmosphere due to human activities), he said.