Climate Change Chart of Albany, USA

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference of +0.97 °C in the more recent reference period. This is an aggregate comparison of monthly means, not a measure of daytime highs or a description of how every month changed. The largest monthly mean temperature increase was in December, at a difference of +2.81 °C. By contrast, November had the largest decrease, a difference of -0.61 °C; these extremes show that the overall mean does not describe a uniform change through the calendar.

Changes in rainfall

For mean daily rainfall, the difference averaged across calendar months was +0.01 mm/day, indicating little change in this rounded aggregate. It is not a monthly total, nor does it establish how many rainy days occurred. The largest monthly increase in mean daily rainfall was in October, with a difference of +1.00 mm/day; the largest decrease was in May, at -1.62 mm/day. These contrasting monthly differences help explain why the near-unchanged mean should not be taken to mean rainfall was unchanged in every month.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration had an average difference of -0.18 hours/day across calendar months. The largest increase was in May, at +1.02 hours/day, while the largest decrease was in October, at -1.18 hours/day; these are changes in monthly daily averages, not a record of conditions on particular days.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall also declined on average across calendar months, with a difference of -0.49 mm/day. The largest decrease was in January, at -3.46 mm/day, while the largest increase was in October, at +0.34 mm/day; these daily averages are not snowfall totals for the months.