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Over the past decades, in the mountainous, hilly and/or urban areas of Hungary several high-intensity storms were followed by severe flash flooding and other hydrologic consequences. The overall aim of this paper was to upgrade the national flash flood susceptibility map of Hungary first published by Czigány et al. (2011). One elementary watershed level (FFSIws) and three settlement level flash flood susceptibility maps (FFSIs) were constructed using 13 environmental factors that influence flash flood generation. FFSI maps were verified by 2,677 documented flash flood events. In total, 5,458 watersheds were delineated. Almost exactly 10% of all delineated watersheds were included into the category of extreme susceptibility. While the number of the mean-based FFSIs demonstrated a normal quasi-Gaussian distribution with very low percentages in the quintile of low and extreme categories, the maximum-based FFSIs overemphasized the proportion of settlements of high and extreme susceptibility. These two categories combined accounted for more than 50% of all settlements. The highest accuracy at 59.02% for class 5 (highest susceptibility) was found for the majority based FFSIs. The current map has been improved compared to the former one in terms of (i) a higher number of conditional factors considered, (ii) higher resolution, (iii) being settlement-based and (iv) a higher number of events used for verification.

Small catchments in mountainous regions affect downstream rivers as a primary source of sediment supply and also generate flash swasfloods, especially during extreme events. These floods have significantly shaped the catchments of small streams in the Mecsek Hills and some rural areas over the past two decades. However, there has been no previous study examining the hydromorphology of headwater catchments in low mountain environments in Hungary. The present study was meant to investigate the fundamental hydrogeomorphological properties of a first-order catchment. A customary and detailed GIS survey of 50-metre sections was aimed at deciphering flash flood vulnerability and geomorphic interrelations within a micro-watershed. We found moderate susceptibility to flash floods compared to the whole Mecsek Hills. Stable large woody debris jams were identified during the field survey as major geomorphic channel features functioning as natural barriers which drive channel evolution and reduce flood hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pannonian Basin was located in the southernmost, disputed limit of permafrost during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). In the western part of the basin, over an area of 1,200 km2, more than 150 sites with polygonal patterned ground were surveyed, and 72 sediment samples from forms identified as relict sand wedges were collected. Ten optically stimulated luminescence ages were obtained from the infills, while morphometric analyses were also carried out on satellite images. Our study revealed that the polygonal networks developed in several phases, from 15.01 ± 1.68 to 23.0 ± 1.7 ka. The polygons have an average diameter of 13–23 m and are mainly present on flat surfaces, intruding into the gravelly, alluvial host of the paleo‐Rába. Statistical analyses highlighted the short transportation period of the sandy infill and multiple sediment provenances. This study adds further data to assess the presence of permafrost or deep seasonal frost and to the interpretation of the LGM in the central European periglacial domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly severe hydrological extremes are predicted for the Pannonian Basin as one of the consequences of climate change. The challenges of extreme droughts require the adaptation of agriculture especially during the intense growth phase of crops. For dryland farming, the selections of the optimal land use type and sustainable agricultural land management are potential adaptation tools for facing the challenges posed by increased aridity. To this end, it is indispensable to understand soil moisture (SM) dynamics under different land use types over drought-affected periods. Within the framework of a Slovenian–Hungarian project, soil moisture, matric potential and rainfall time series have been collected at three pilot sites of different land use types (pasture, orchards and a ploughland) in SW Hungary since September 2018. Experiments were carried out in soils of silt, silt loam and clay loam texture. In the summers (June 1 to August 31) of 2019 and 2022, we identified normal and dry conditions, respectively, with regard to differences in water balance. Our results demonstrated that soil moisture is closely controlled by land use. Marked differences of the moisture regime were revealed among the three land use types based on statistical analyses. Soils under pasture had the most balanced regime, whereas ploughland soils indicated the highest amplitude of moisture dynamics. The orchard, however, showed responses to weather conditions in sharp contrast with the other two sites. Our results are applicable for loamy soils under humid and subhumid temperate climates and for periods of extreme droughts, a condition which is expected to be the norm for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is commonly associated with extreme weather phenomena. Extreme weather patterns may bring prolonged drought periods, more intense runoff and increased severity of floods. Rainfall distribution is extremely erratic both in space and time, particularly in areas of rugged topography and heterogeneous land use. Therefore, locating major rainfall events and predicting their hydrological consequences is challenging. Hence, our study aimed at exploring the spatial and temporal patterns of daily rainfall totals of R ≥ 20 mm, R ≥ 30 mm and R ≥ 40 mm (extreme precipitation events, EPE) in Pécs (SW Hungary) by a hydrometeorological network (PHN) of 10 weather stations and the gridded database of the Hungarian Meteorological Service (OMSZ). Our results revealed that (a) OMSZ datasets indicated increasing frequencies of EPEs for the period of 1971-2020 in Pécs, (b) the OMSZ dataset generally underestimated EPE frequencies, particularly for R ≥ 40 mm EPEs, for the period of 2013 to 2020, and (c) PHN indicated a slight orographic effect, demonstrating spatial differences of EPEs between the two datasets both annually and seasonally for 2013-2020. Our results pointed out the adequacy of interpolated datasets for mesoscale detection of EPE distribution. However, topographically representative monitoring networks provide more detailed microscale data for the hydrological management of urban areas. Data from dense rain-gauge networks may complement interpolated datasets, facilitating complex environmental management actions and precautionary measures, particularly during weather-related calamities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]