Climate Change Chart of Lord Howe Island, Australia

Overview of climate changes

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration had a mean difference of -0.30 hours/day averaged across calendar months in the more recent period. The figure is an unweighted summary of monthly means, so it does not imply that every month had less sunshine. The largest monthly decrease was in January, with a difference of -0.69 hours/day compared with the earlier reference period. In November, the largest monthly increase was +0.08 hours/day, showing that monthly sunshine changes differed in direction.

Temperature changes

Monthly mean temperature was higher by a mean difference of +0.92 °C averaged across calendar months; this is an unweighted summary of the monthly means, not a day-weighted annual average or a measure of daytime maximum temperatures. The largest monthly increase was in April, with a difference of +1.23 °C in the more recent period compared with the earlier reference period. This identifies the strongest monthly increase, not a uniform change across all months.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall increased by a mean difference of +0.07 mm/day averaged across calendar months. This unweighted comparison summarizes monthly means rather than day-weighted annual rainfall or monthly totals. The largest monthly increase occurred in April / July, where the difference was +0.80 mm/day compared with the earlier reference period. By contrast, June had the largest monthly decrease, with a difference of -0.82 mm/day; these are daily-mean changes, not changes in monthly rainfall totals.