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Volume XX |

Ecoclimatic characteristics of the south-western slope of the Pirin Mountains (Bulgaria)

Abstract: The paper characterizes thermal and humidity conditions within one of the insufficiently investigated parts of Bulgaria from the climate point of view, namely the south-western slope of the Pirin Mountains. The initial data for the study (monthly temperatures and precipitation amounts) were obtained from our own meteorological monitoring station for the period 2013-2021, organized by the Department of Climatology, Hydrology and Geomorphology, Sofia University, Bulgaria. By the calculation of Mayr tetratherm (MT), monthly De Martonne aridity index (Im) and Compensated Summer Ombrothermic index (CSOi) the predominance of humid conditions in the studied area is established. There is a large inter-annual variability of the De Martonne aridity index and the Compensated Summer Ombrothermic index, which are more influenced by precipitation than air temperature in the middle part of the mountains. On the other hand, in combination with low precipitation amounts, high temperatures in recent years have contributed to the manifestation of arid features of the climate. The results of the study supplement the insufficient information about the bioclimatic characteristics of the Pirin Mountains and clarify the peculiarities of the climate in these mountains, which have two clearly distinguishable macroslopes with west-southwest and east-northeast exposure.