Climate Change Chart of Les Arcs (Savoie), France

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, the difference in monthly mean temperature was +0.73 °C compared with the earlier reference period; this is an unweighted average of monthly means, not a day-weighted annual figure or a measure of daytime maximum temperatures. The largest monthly increase was in January, at +1.58 °C, while September had the largest decrease, with a difference of -0.07 °C. These monthly contrasts show that the average shift was not identical in every calendar month.

Changes in rainfall

Averaged across calendar months, mean daily rainfall had a difference of +0.50 mm/day in the more recent period. This unweighted average of monthly means describes daily rainfall amounts, not monthly totals, and does not mean that rainfall rose by the same amount in every month. November recorded the largest monthly increase in mean daily rainfall, with a difference of +1.93 mm/day. This identifies the strongest monthly increase among the supplied comparisons, rather than a uniform change across the year.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration, averaged across calendar months, had a difference of -0.25 hours/day compared with the earlier reference period. This is an unweighted average of monthly daily-hour means, not an annual total or a claim that every month changed alike. The largest monthly decrease was in November, with a difference of -0.55 hours/day hours per day. By contrast, January had the largest increase, at +0.10 hours/day hours per day, illustrating that the monthly differences varied in direction.

Changes in snowfall

Averaged across calendar months, mean daily snowfall had a difference of -0.07 mm/day in the more recent period. This unweighted average concerns daily amounts rather than monthly totals and does not imply the same difference in each month. The largest monthly decrease in mean daily snowfall occurred in January, with a difference of -0.83 mm/day. In February, the largest monthly increase was +0.29 mm/day; these are differences in recorded mean daily amounts, not monthly snowfall totals.