ANALYSIS OF PRECIPITATION TRENDS DURING 2nd HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY IN AN AREA OF SARDINIA (ITALY) AT HIGH HYDROGEOLOGICAL RISK

We present an analysis of precipitation in an area of Sardinia (Italy) at high hydrogeological risk. Sardinia is an island located in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Precipitation is here a highly irregular phenomenon due to the variability of extra-tropical cyclones. The latitudinal development of the island (~200 Km) gives a climatic North-South gradient. However, the presence of high and steep mountains near the sea on the central and south-eastern coast causes an East-West precipitation gradient in autumn especially, due to hot and moist currents coming from Africa. This area is characterized by the highest frequency of severe events in Sardinia. For this reason, it has been chosen as the starting point of a more general research aiming to highlight possible climatic changes involving the island. On the whole, non-significant trends are greatly prevailing at the monthly and consequently the annual timescales.