Meteorological drought (MDr) causes considerable economic losses in many countries, including in relation to agriculture. To examine the diversity of seasonal meteorological drought in Poland, the study uses monthly precipitation sums in the period from March to November, collected from 74 ground-based meteorological stations in 1951–2020. The paper defines meteorological drought on the basis of the standardized precipitation index in three seasons (SPI-3) and differentiates three degrees of drought intensity: extreme, severe and moderate. The study also calculates the size of Poland’s area affected by meteorological drought (AAMDr) and determines the relationship between AAMDr and SPI-3. MDr in Poland occurred more frequently in spring and autumn (every 4–5 years) than in summer (every 7 years). In the areas affected by extreme drought, precipitation was below the average, mainly ≤50% of the climatic norm, and air temperature values were below or above the average of the climatic norm, mainly ranging from −1.0 to 1.0 °C. A significant negative correlation between AAMDr and SPI-3 indices was found. The obtained results could be useful for managing climatic risk and developing regional and local agriculture adaptation plans aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change.

Poland, like other countries in the world, increasingly experiences the ongoing climate change. However, the level of preparation of the country and its society for climate change in the second decade of the 21st century can be evaluated as low. The Municipal Adaptation Plans (MAPs) created in 2017–2019 became a subject of research studies whose main goal was to determine the typology of adaptation actions to be undertaken as part of MAPs in the 14 selected Polish cities in various geographical regions. Moreover, the type and scope of intended actions were analysed according to the planned amount of expenditure and from the perspective of sectors. The tasks accepted for implementation up to 2030 mainly relate to modernisation and development of transport systems and to actions connected with physical infrastructure. A large number of tasks and even a bigger scale of financial sources planned in the analysed MAPs for mitigation actions show that Polish cities are at an initial stage of actions for climate protection. The typology of adaptation actions which the work proposes may be helpful in research carried out in countries of a similar level of preparation for adaptation to climate change.

Extreme precipitation of a minimum daily value of >30 mm often initiates natural hazards such as floods, which in turn may not only lead to property damage but also present a danger to people’s health and lives. This paper mainly focuses on examining the trends and frequency of extreme daily precipitation (EDPr) in Poland. Also, it determines natural risk zones caused by EDPr of >30 mm, >50 mm, >70 mm, and >100 mm. In Poland, a significant positive trend was found for EDPr > 30 mm, >50 mm, and >70 mm in September, and for EDPr >100 mm in May. The most frequently recorded EDPr in Poland was >30 mm, the frequency of which ranged from 0.04% in February to nearly 3% in July. EDPr of >100 mm was recorded in 4 months, from May to August. An increase in the frequency of monthly EDPr in Poland occurred mainly in the southwestern and western parts. In Poland, three hazard zones of various frequencies of EDPr events were determined. In Zone III, which is in the southwestern and southern parts of the country, EDPr events occurred far more often than in Zone I; on average, four times more in the spring–summer season and slightly more than five times more in the autumn–winter season. The obtained results may help in the building of modern management and monitoring systems for the prevention of natural hazards caused by extreme precipitation.

The recognition of changes in the course of agricultural thermal periods is vital when it comes to determining appropriate measures for adapting agriculture to climate change. The present study examined changes in air temperature between 1951 and 2014 in the area of south-western Poland. A statistically significant, positive linear trend was confirmed for the annual average temperature, seasonal averages, and monthly averages in the periods spanning February–May and July–August. From the beginning of the 21st century, the period of winter dormancy of plants started increasingly later; farming and plant vegetation periods started increasingly earlier, and the period of active plant growth was prolonged. Among the considered agricultural periods, the growing season was the most prolonged. The duration of the farming period was also significantly longer, but the winter dormancy period was shortened. The negative linear trend of days when the temperature stood at <0 °C was statistically confirmed for temperature in the entire region and most of the stations. In terms of predicting the consequences of the changes that were observed today over the next decades, this is not an easy task. However, the nature of these changes suggests that further cultivation of winter crops may require far-reaching adaptation measures.