Effect of cloudiness on long-term variability in air temperature in Krakow

The purpose of this article is to describe the effect of cloudiness on long-term changes in air temperature. The article attempts to assess the role of clouds in contemporary climate change. The article is based on archived air temperature and cloudiness data obtained from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. The analyses include mean daily air temperature and cloud cover data for years 1863-2010 and noontime cloud genus observations for years 1906-2010. It was concluded that the increase in air temperature in Krakow is more strongly associated with changes in the structure of cloudiness than changes in the amount of cloudiness. The relationship between these two types of changes is more apparent during the second half of the 20th century, in an era of accelerating climate warming. Copyright (c) 2013 Royal Meteorological Society