Assessment of weather and climate variability over the Western Harbor of Alexandria, Egypt.

The management of any harbor depends primarily on meteorological conditions. This study aimed to analyze the meteorological conditions over Western Harbor of Alexandria, using meteorological data recorded on an hourly basis from the automated weather station in the harbor from January 2007 to December 2018. The results revealed a general trend of a slight increase in the mean annual air temperature anomaly over the study period at a rate of 0.03°C/year. The mean annual sea-level pressure anomaly also showed an increasing trend at a rate of 0.011 h Pa/year. The dominant wind directions over the harbor were north-northwest during the study period. The lowest annual mean wind speed of 7 kt occurred in 2007, while the highest wind speed of 11 kt occurred in 2010. There was a trend of an increase in the mean annual wind speed anomaly at a rate of 0.12 kt/year. In addition, there was a general trend of an increase in the mean annual relative humidity anomaly at a rate of 0.219%/year. Four, six, eight, and ten extreme values were detected for air temperature, sea-level pressure, wind speed, and relative humidity, respectively. However, oceanographic parameters should also be examined to strengthen our findings. Nonetheless, mitigation and awareness plans should be prepared and implemented for the harbor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]