Influence of North Atlantic Oscillation on Moscow Climate Continentality

Abstract

The natural variability of regional climatic conditions poses certain difficulties in detecting global climate change at a local scale. The question about the ratio between the contribution of human forcing, induced by the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, and the contribution of natural variability in atmospheric and oceanic circulation arises in each particular case. The purpose of the study reported in this article was to evaluate the contribution of the North Atlantic Oscillation to the decrease in the climate continentality of Moscow during the period of 1951–2000. The results show that a significant part of the decrease in continentality could be attributed to the increase in the North Atlantic Oscillation index observed during this period.