**2.1 Precipitation dynamics**

**Figure 2** shows the monthly values of precipitation during the observed period. The monthly precipitation amounts (2003–2018) show a positive but nonsignificant upward trend (0.010 mm per month, that is, 0.12 mm per year), which is in accordance with the multiannual findings from similar studies [15]. In the last 5 years, a mildly negative but also nonsignificant trend (−0.40 mm per year) is visible. Moreover, the average annual sum of precipitation exhibits a mild but constant rise (682.7 mm for 1981–2018; 688.6 mm for 2003–2018; 728.8 mm for 2014–2018). Also, irregular precipitation extremes have been recorded (e.g., in June 2018; **Figure 2**). However, it should be noted here that high amounts of precipitation in a very short period actually have an extremely low effective value for crops (as explained in detail in Section 3.2).
