The paper covers a study of biothermal conditions in the Polish Tatras using daily values of the Subjective Temperature Index (STI) from three weather stations: Zakopane (foot of the mountains), Hala Gąsienicowa (tree line) and Kasprowy Wierch (summits), recorded during the period 2001–2010. The paper discusses the frequency of various thermal sensations in individual months and seasons. Biothermal conditions were demonstrated to follow an expected vertical pattern of change resembling that of the fall in air temperature. The higher the altitude the fewer STI classes remained, from six at Zakopane to four at Kasprowy Wierch, the more frequent were the sensations of cold (“cold”, “cool”) and the less frequent those linked to warmth (“hot”, “very hot”). At Zakopane and Hala Gąsienicowa the dominant thermal sensation during the year was “cool ” ( 44 and 45 %, respectively ), while “cold ” dominated at Kasprowy Wierch ( 48 % ). Zakopane had the best biothermal conditions of the three stations with “cool ”, “comfortable ” and “warm ” sensations, regarded as suitable for outdoor activities (sports and recreation) recorded throughout nearly all the year. At the opposite end of the scale were the conditions at Kasprowy Wierch, which had the highest number of days with the “cold” sensation, up to 70% on average in winter. These conditions require special clothing with a high thermal insulation factor and hand and face protection against potential frostbite.

The authors investigated days of sultry weather in the Lublin and Nałęczów region from 1966 to 2010. A long-term variability of such days in relation to the three biometeorological indices : the Scharlau’s criterion, the equivalent temperature and the Heat Stress Index (pHSI) was analyzed. Days of sultry weather can occur in the analyzed area from May to October, but a clearly higher frequency is limited to the period from June to August, with a maximum in July. The most uncomfortable bioclimatic conditions were  noticeable in the second half of the day, when air temperatures were highest. The study also showed that the pHSI index has the greatest practical importance because it has been determined on the basis of the human heat balance model and we can also calculate the number of days with various intensity of sultriness. Regardless of the method of calculating biometeorological indices, a significant increase in the risk of dehydration and overheating of the human body was found. The reason is an increasing number of sultry days that occur in long sequences. The upward trend may limit all kinds of physical outdoor activity in the study area.

The paper characterises the annual and monthly precipitation recorded in the Polish Carpathian Mountains in 2010 against a wider background of the period 1881–2010. Monthly precipitation totals were taken as the input data covering the period 1881–2010 and recorded at 11 stations, including: Wisła, Bielsko-Biała, Żywiec, Maków Podhalański, Zakopane, Nowy Sącz, Krynica, Jasło, Dukla, Sanok and Wetlina. The study demonstrates that the precipitation totals of 2010 were among the highest during the period and their anomaly was either high or extremely high, depending on the criterion adopted. The highest totals were recorded in the Beskid Śląski, Beskid Żywiecki and Beskid Mały ranges, in the Silesian Foothills and in the Tatras. When compared to the long-term average, the totals of 2010 ranged from 139% in Maków Podhalański and Wetlina to 159% in Nowy Sącz. At five of the stations the precipitation totals were the highest of the period. At all of the stations the monthly totals between May and September were higher than average and at all but one station (Jasło) the combined total of these months was the highest during the long-term period constituting between 72% (Wetlina) and 79% (Nowy Sącz) of the annual total in 2010. There was a difference between the eastern and western part of the study area in the monthly pattern. May yielded very high totals at all stations, including the highest of the long-term period at eight of them, constituting between 259% (Jasło, Dukla) and 497% (Żywiec) of the longterm average. At the other end of the spectrum, the October totals were anomalously low. An increased incidence of cyclonic circulation types was accountable for the high precipitation totals recorded in southern Poland in 2010.

The chemistry of mountains streams depends on natural factors (geology, litology, tectonics, and variable supply patterns) and anthropogenic factors. The aim of this paper is to determine the spatial diversity and variability of physico-chemical properties of streamwater in the Tatra Mts. Principal components analysis was used to determine the factors influencing the chemical composition of streamwater in the Tatra Mountains. Nine streams in the Tatra Mts. were selected for research. Using ion chromatography the concentration of 14 ions was estimated. The variability of physical and chemical parameters of streamwater depends mainly on the geology of an area and dissolution process. Generally, diluted water contains lower concentrations of most dissolved ions. Another factor is the influence of temperature and vegetation.

The work presents bathymetric changes and changes of area of 67 lakes located within the Pomeranian Lake District in northern Poland. On the basis of bathymetric plans and topographic maps, an analysis was carried out focused on changes in bathymetry and area lakes within a period of over 60 years. The total area of the first group of lakes diminished by 5.4% and the volume of lake basins – by 13.1%. The fact that the change in volume is higher than the change in area, which was observed, clearly demonstrates that the decline of natural water reservoirs is caused not only by the shrinking coastline, but also by the phenomenon of shallowing of lake basins. The decrease in the volume of lake basins also negatively affects the lakes’ natural resistance to degradation. Moreover, the changes in the total area of all lakes throughout the 20 th century were also analyzed and it was found that the total area diminished by 8.0%.

The aim of the study was to define relations between meteorological elements such as: sunshine duration, air temperature, precipitation as well as snow cover and thermal regime in soil. All of the data were obtained from the Field Research Station of the  Department of Climatology in the Botanical Garden of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków in the period 2007–2009. Dispersing of temperature in soil was researched on 7 depth levels: 0, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 50 cm. In the first part of the paper annual variation of soil was presented. Differentiation of temperature variations was the most significant on the ground surface. The annual average temperature of the soil in the period (2007–2009) ranged from 12.6 °C at the soil surface (0 cm) to 11.1 °C at a depth of 20 cm. The highest average annual temperature on the surface of the soil was measured in 2008 (12.7 °C), and the lowest – 2009 (11.1 °C at a depth of 20 cm). The average annual temperature variations in the soil profile 5–50 cm was 0.6 °C. Taking into account the relationship between sunshine duration and the daily average temperature of each level, the largest connection on the soil surface was noted on 0 cm (correlation coefficient 0.69) and gradually decreased with depth. It was also found that there was a very strong correlation between the temperature of the soil at all the depths and the air temperature measured in the cage at the height of 2 m above the ground. These values range from 0.88 at a depth of 50 cm with air temperature at noon (12 UTC) to 0.98 between the temperature on the ground (0 cm) at 6 UTC. Systematic temperature increase of successive depths in days with snow cover and reduction of the daily temperatures amplitude with increasing depth (in accordance with Fourier's law) is also a characteristic regularity. On the termoizoplet graph it can be seen that at low temperatures in the soil profile these days with snow greater than 20 cm maintained only to a depth of 2 cm, while in the 5–50 cm layer was almost isotherm (gradients up to 0.07 °C · cm^–1). In the case of soil temperature, many meteorological factors directly affect its course. For this reason, most of them were taken into account in this publication.