Climate Change Chart of Tasmania, Australia

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Monthly mean temperature was higher by a mean difference of +1.11 °C averaged across calendar months in the more recent period. 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 June, with a difference of +1.84 °C; that identifies the strongest monthly increase, not a continuous change through time.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall was higher by a mean difference of +1.00 mm/day averaged across calendar months compared with the earlier reference period. This unweighted average of monthly differences describes the overall comparison, rather than rainfall in every month, and the amounts are daily means rather than monthly totals. The largest monthly increase occurred in October, where mean daily rainfall had a difference of +1.67 mm/day.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration had a difference of -0.49 hours/day averaged across calendar months, indicating a lower unweighted mean in the more recent period; this summary does not mean that sunshine declined in every month. The clearest monthly decrease was in December, with a difference of -1.00 hours/day. By contrast, July recorded the largest monthly increase, with a difference of +0.10 hours/day, showing that the monthly changes were not uniform.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall had a mean difference of +0.36 mm/day averaged across calendar months, indicating a higher unweighted mean in the more recent period. This daily-mean comparison is not a measure of monthly snowfall totals and does not imply the same change in each month. The largest monthly increase was in August, with a difference of +1.63 mm/day; the largest decrease was in March, with a difference of -0.04 mm/day. These opposing monthly changes provide context for the average and should not be read as a continuous trend.