Model estimates of moistening conditions on the Russian plains by the middle of the 21st century

The spatiotemporal variations of long-term values of annual precipitation, annual radiation balance, and radiation index of dryness by the middle of the 21st century as compared with the last two decades of the 20th century were investigated using the results of numerical simulations based on the atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs). According to the model scenarios, the variations of moistening conditions follow the arid and arid-humid combined types. All models predict the significant moistening reduction in the south of European Russia by the middle of the 21st century. Studied is the reaction of boundaries of moistening zones in subboreal flat landscapes of Russia to the climate change. It is demonstrated that in spite of different directions of the spatial shift of moistening zone boundaries predicted by the climate models, these changes remain within the interannual selective variability.