Climate Change Chart of Sierra Nevada, Spain

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Monthly mean temperature increased by an average difference of +2.32 °C when averaged across calendar months; this is an unweighted comparison of monthly means, not a day-weighted annual average or a measure of daytime maximum temperatures. The largest monthly increase was in December, with a difference of +5.24 °C. These figures describe differences between the reference periods, not a continuous change from one year to the next.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall averaged across calendar months increased by a difference of +4.58 mm/day; this is an unweighted average of monthly means, not a day-weighted annual average or a monthly snowfall total. The largest monthly increase was in March, with a difference of +20.71 mm/day. The monthly result highlights a period-to-period difference, while the average summarizes months collectively and does not describe every month individually.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall had an average difference of -0.14 mm/day when averaged across calendar months, an unweighted comparison of monthly means rather than a day-weighted annual average or monthly rainfall total. The largest monthly decrease was in March, with a difference of -0.80 mm/day; by contrast, the largest monthly increase was in August, at +0.76 mm/day. These month-specific differences show why the overall mean does not describe every month.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration averaged across calendar months had a difference of -0.07 hours/day, an unweighted summary of monthly means rather than a day-weighted annual figure. The largest decrease occurred in March, with a difference of -0.52 hours/day. In contrast, the largest increase was shared by October / December, at +0.23 hours/day. These differences compare period averages; they do not imply that sunshine changed in the same direction in every month.