Climate Change Chart of Albany, USA

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, the difference in monthly mean temperature was +0.97 °C; 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 +2.81 °C, while November had the largest monthly decrease, a difference of -0.61 °C. These month-specific contrasts show that the overall mean difference did not apply uniformly across the calendar.

Changes in snowfall

Averaged across calendar months, mean daily snowfall had a difference of -0.49 mm/day. This comparison concerns daily means rather than monthly snowfall totals; the reported difference should not be read as a uniform change in every month. The largest monthly decrease was in January, with a difference of -3.46 mm/day in mean daily snowfall. By contrast, October recorded the largest monthly increase, at a difference of +0.34 mm/day, showing that the monthly differences varied in direction.

Changes in sunshine duration

Averaged across calendar months, mean daily sunshine duration had a difference of -0.18 hours/day. This is an unweighted mean of the monthly means, not a day-weighted annual figure, and it does not describe every month individually. The largest monthly increase occurred in May, with a difference of +1.02 hours/day in mean daily sunshine, while the largest decrease was in October, with a difference of -1.18 hours/day. These opposing monthly differences help explain why the overall mean change is more modest than either month's change.

Changes in rainfall

Averaged across calendar months, mean daily rainfall had a difference of +0.01 mm/day. This small aggregate difference summarizes monthly means rather than monthly totals, and does not imply that rainfall changed by the same amount in each month. The largest monthly increase was in October, at a difference of +1.00 mm/day in mean daily rainfall; the largest monthly decrease was in May, at a difference of -1.62 mm/day. The contrast between these months provides context for the near-level average across calendar months.