Climate Change Chart of Hakuba, Japan

Overview of climate changes

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall had an across-calendar-month difference of +1.27 mm/day in the more recent period. This unweighted mean of monthly means is not a monthly total and does not mean snowfall increased in every month. The largest monthly increase was in January, at a difference of +6.58 mm/day, whereas the largest decrease was in March, with a difference of -1.27 mm/day. Together, these monthly comparisons show that the average difference coexists with changes in both directions.

Temperature changes

Across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference of +1.64 °C in the more recent period; this is an unweighted mean of the monthly means, not a day-weighted annual average or a measure of daytime highs. The largest monthly increase was in March, at a difference of +3.28 °C. That identifies the strongest increase among the supplied monthly comparisons, rather than implying that every month warmed by the same amount.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall, rather than monthly rainfall totals, had an across-calendar-month difference of -0.15 mm/day in the more recent period. This unweighted average of monthly means summarizes the comparison without implying that rainfall declined in every month. The largest monthly decrease was in June, with a difference of -2.37 mm/day, while the largest increase occurred in April, at +0.71 mm/day. These contrasting monthly differences show why the overall mean should not be read as a description of each month's rainfall.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration averaged across calendar months had a difference of -0.82 hours/day in the more recent period. This is an unweighted comparison of monthly means, not a day-weighted annual figure, and it does not establish the change for every month. The largest monthly decrease was in January, at a difference of -1.35 hours/day; this points to the strongest supplied monthly decline, not a uniform reduction throughout the year.