CLIMATE CHANGES: CAUSES AND IMPACT Camelia Slave*, Carmen Man*, Anca Rotman* *University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine, B-dul Marasti 59, Bucharest E-mail: camelia_slave@yahoo.com Abstract Present brings several environmental problems for people. Many of these are closely related, but by far the most important problem is the climate change. In the course of Earth evolution, climate has changed many times, sometimes dramatically. Warmer eras always replaced and were in turn replaced by glacial ones. However, the climate of the past almost ten thousand years has been very stable. During this period human civilization has also developed. In the past nearly 100 years - since the beginning of industrialization - the global average temperature has increased by approx. 0.6 ° C (after IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)), faster than at any time in the last 1000 years. Keywords: climate, environment, climate change, temperature 1. INTRODUCTION Global warming affects our country, the most pronounced effects being hot and dry winters. In Romania there is a significant increase in the frequency of rare and extreme weather events: hot summers, tornadoes, floods. Weather records for more than 100 years show a clear trend of desertification in an area of 3 million hectares in the eastern part of the country (Dobrogea), East Muntenia and southern Moldova, of which 2.8 million ha of arable land (20% of Romania's agricultural background). For the past century it has been highlighted up to an average temperature increase of 0.3 ° C, with an increase reported after 1960. The increase is more pronounced and differentiated in the southeast regions with values of 0.8 ° C at stations as Bucharest, Constanta and Filaret. Increases are lower in the central and northern part of the country except Baia Mare depression where values of 0.7 ° C were highlighted.(Sandoiu, 2005) Data recorded at the main meteorological stations in the country and weather stations in Western Carpathians, located at altitudes between 1090 and 2504 m for the period 1961 to 2000 reveal the following: - An increasing trend in global average air temperature at the earth's surface, accelerated in the last 25 years; - A slight increase in mean annual temperature and decreased rainfall mountainous areas; - A slight increase in annual mean temperature stations Omu Peak (2504 m) and a clear increase in Stana de Vale for the period 1979-2000; - Melting glaciers Scărişoara and reducing it to 2.0 m in the last 100 years, of which the largest reduction was reported in the past 25 years; - Increasing the water level in different sections located on the Black Sea coast with up to 45 cm in a period of 130 years; - occurrence of extreme temperatures, such as those recorded on 5 July 2000 data station Giurgiu 43.5 º C and 42.4 C in Bucharest since 1984 (Sandoiu, 2005). Examples of changes in climate. 2000 was the year characterized by widespread drought and excessive heat. The summer of 2000 was the driest in the last 100 years, preceded by the spring which was also very dry. In terms of precipitation, significant regional differences indicate a slight increase in the south, west and east and the rest of annual quantities decline. It is obvious stress the torrential rainfall which is manifested by loss of large amounts of rainfall in short periods followed by long periods of drought. Even in dry years rainfall produced extensive flooding during the spring when combined with snowmelt and summer heat. Rapid alternation of rainy periods with dry periods were frequent and a significant example in this respect was 2000 when after a spring in which there were major floods, a very dry period in June and July followed. 65