Climate Change Chart of Anchorage, Alaska, USA

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference of +2.91 °C in the more recent period; this unweighted comparison of monthly means is not a day-weighted annual average and does not mean every month changed by the same amount. The largest monthly increase was in December, with a difference of +7.18 °C. These are monthly mean temperatures, not daytime maximum temperatures.

Changes in snowfall

Averaged across calendar months, mean daily snowfall had a difference of -0.12 mm/day in the more recent period. This unweighted monthly-mean comparison is not a day-weighted annual average, and it does not imply the same change in every month. The largest monthly increase was in February, with a difference of +2.84 mm/day in mean daily snowfall. In October, the largest monthly decrease was a difference of -3.26 mm/day; these daily averages are not monthly snowfall totals.

Changes in sunshine duration

Averaged across calendar months, mean daily sunshine duration had a difference of -0.15 hours/day in the more recent period. This is an unweighted comparison of monthly means, not a day-weighted annual figure or a description of every month. Monthly differences varied in direction: June had the largest increase, at +0.37 hours/day, while February had the largest decrease, at -0.54 hours/day. These values describe mean daily sunshine duration, not the amount of sunshine on each individual day.

Changes in rainfall

Averaged across calendar months, mean daily rainfall had a difference of +0.28 mm/day in the more recent period. This unweighted mean of monthly means describes an overall comparison, not a change shared by every month; the figures are daily averages rather than monthly totals. The largest monthly increase was in October, at a difference of +1.29 mm/day in mean daily rainfall. By contrast, June recorded the largest monthly decrease, a difference of -0.18 mm/day; neither contrast implies that all days in those months followed the monthly average.