CLIMATIC-CHANGE OVER THE MEDITERRANEAN AND LINKS TO THE MORE GENERAL ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION

The marine climate over the Mediterranean Sea has been examined for th e winter and summer seasons over the period 1946-1987. Little change w as found in the winter over this period, apart from some evidence of a decline in the strength of the surface circulation. However, the summ er months have seen a general rise in atmospheric pressure over the ba sin, with strengthening north- westerly winds in the eastern Mediterra nean. Changes in the eastern and western basin are frequently out-of-p hase because different processes tend to affect the climates of the tw o basins. These changes have been validated by analysis of the climate at land-based stations around the periphery of the Mediterranean. Com bining the marine and terrestrial analyses shows possible links betwee n climate in the eastern Mediterranean, changes in the intensity of th e South Asian Monsoon (via reorientation of the summer-time trough ove r the Middle East), and climatic change over sub-Saharan Africa.