Climate Change Chart of Chiloe Island, Chile

Overview of climate changes

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration averaged across calendar months shows a difference/change of -0.50 hours/day in the more recent period. The largest monthly decrease occurred in November, at a difference/change of -1.52 hours/day; by contrast, September recorded the largest monthly increase, with a difference/change of +0.03 hours/day. The mean is an unweighted summary of calendar-month means, so it should not be read as a uniform change in daily sunshine across months.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall, rather than monthly totals, averaged across calendar months shows a difference/change of -0.74 mm/day in the more recent period. Individual months differed in direction: June had the largest monthly decrease, a difference/change of -3.32 mm/day, while August had the largest monthly increase, a difference/change of +1.40 mm/day. These monthly contrasts make clear that the overall mean difference does not describe every month’s rainfall.

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference/change of +0.63 °C in the more recent period; this unweighted mean describes the monthly averages collectively, not every month or daytime maximum temperatures. The largest monthly increase was in May, with a difference/change of +1.31 °C compared with the earlier reference period, so that month stands out in the supplied temperature differences without implying the same change throughout the year.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall differences also vary by month. Averaged across calendar months, the difference/change was +0.33 mm/day in the more recent period. The largest monthly increase was in August, with a difference/change of +1.03 mm/day, while the largest monthly decrease occurred in June, at a difference/change of -0.18 mm/day. These are daily mean amounts, not monthly snowfall totals, and the aggregate does not imply that every month changed in the same direction.