Climate Change Chart of Houston, USA

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference of +0.93 °C in the more recent period. This is an unweighted average of the monthly means, not a day-weighted annual average, and it describes the overall difference between the reference periods rather than a continuous trend. The largest monthly increase occurred in March, with a difference of +1.74 °C; this is a monthly mean, not a daytime maximum.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall averaged across calendar months had a difference of +1.31 mm/day compared with the earlier reference period. This unweighted comparison of monthly means is not a day-weighted annual average or a monthly rainfall total. The largest monthly increase was in September, with a difference of +3.06 mm/day, while November had the largest monthly decrease, a difference of -0.28 mm/day. These month-specific contrasts show that the overall mean difference does not describe every month in the same way.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration averaged across calendar months had a difference of -0.41 hours/day in the more recent period, an unweighted comparison of monthly means rather than a day-weighted annual average. The monthly pattern was not uniform: January had the largest increase, with a difference of +0.40 hours/day, whereas June had the largest decrease, with a difference of -0.84 hours/day. These differences describe average daily sunshine by reference period, not a continuous change over time.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall averaged across calendar months had a difference of -0.03 mm/day between the reference periods. This is an unweighted mean of monthly averages, not a day-weighted annual snowfall amount or a monthly total. The monthly differences varied: January had the largest decrease, with a difference of -0.50 mm/day, while February had the largest increase, with a difference of +0.17 mm/day. The mean summarizes the months collectively and does not imply the same change in each month.