Examining the Climate Change Phenomenon Using Temperature and Precipitation Observations: The Case of Erzurum

Climate change is a reality today. The most important indicators of the climate change are the long-term changes in the spatial and temporal precipitation and temperature patterns. It is being felt more and more over time by extreme weather events and changes in temperature and precipitation trends. Data collected about the temperature and precipitation patterns provide important clues about climate change. For this purpose, different statistical analysis methods are used. Since hydro-meteorological observations are data covering a series of time, they may be intermittent, short-term, irregular, and skewed. For this reason, homogeneity tests were applied before the statistical analysis. In this study, the Standard Normal Homogeneity test, the Mann–Kendall and the Spearman Rho tests from the non-parametric test groups, and the Linear Trend test from the parametric test groups was applied to all data. Applications were made on the temperature and precipitation values obtained from the observation stations that show slight differences from each other and represent three sub-climates in the city of Erzurum, Turkey, which has a semi-arid main climate. It is seen that there is an increase in the temperature trend and a decrease in the precipitation trend for all three stations. The statistical significance of the change in temperature and precipitation trends requires urgent action to be taken against climate change. It also gives an idea about the dimensions of adaptation studies.