Climate Change Chart of Bruges, Belgium

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference of +1.18 °C compared with the earlier reference period. This is an unweighted comparison of monthly means, not a day-weighted annual average, and it describes neither daytime maximum temperatures nor a continuous change between the periods. The largest monthly increase was in January, with a difference of +2.84 °C. By contrast, April had the largest monthly decrease, a difference of -0.18 °C; these month-specific differences show that the aggregate mean does not describe every month in the same way.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration, averaged across calendar months, had a difference of -0.48 hours/day compared with the earlier reference period. This unweighted mean of monthly means summarizes the periods rather than establishing a continuous trend or describing each month individually. The monthly difference was not uniform: February had the largest increase, at +0.18 hours/day, while June had the largest decrease, at -1.12 hours/day. These are differences in mean daily hours for those months, not changes in sunshine on every day.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall averaged across calendar months had a difference of +0.55 mm/day in the more recent period. This unweighted mean of monthly means is not a monthly rainfall total or a day-weighted annual average, and does not imply an identical difference in every month. The largest monthly increase was in June, with a difference of +0.89 mm/day. In April, the largest monthly decrease was a difference of -0.06 mm/day, illustrating how monthly daily-mean differences can vary around the aggregate comparison.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall averaged across calendar months had a difference of +0.01 mm/day in the more recent period. Because this is a rounded comparison of unweighted monthly means, it should not be read as evidence that snowfall was absent or that every month changed by the same amount. Monthly differences varied: December had the largest increase, a difference of +0.69 mm/day, whereas February had the largest decrease, a difference of -0.85 mm/day. These figures describe mean daily amounts, not monthly snowfall totals.