Climatic fluctuations in Bohemia from the 16th century until the present

Summary This is paper appraises the possibilities of using written sources of weather information and indirect indicators of the climate of Bohemia. The data are related mainly to the socalled Bohemian vine and hop growing region (the lower reaches of the Ohe River). On the basis of these data climatic fluctuations from the 16th century up to the present are described. Characteristics of climatic types are presented: the continental type (1501–1560, 1681–1750), the oceanic type (1561–1630), and the ambiguous type (1631–1680). On the basis of instrumental observations of the station Prague Klementinum it is possible to describe fluctuations of air temperature since 1771 and fluctuations of precipitation since 1804. These series are the basis material for the analysis of the cyclicity of climatic fluctuations and for the study of possible causes of this cyclicity. The obtained information of the climate of Bohemia since the 16th century for forecasting the climate fluctuations by means of the so-called diagnostic methods, which are based on the method of analogies.With 7 Figures