Climate Change Chart of Kristiansand, Norway

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference of +1.13 °C compared with the earlier reference period; 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 January, with a difference of +3.68 °C. By contrast, August had the largest monthly decrease, a difference of -0.32 °C; these month-specific differences need not describe every month.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall averaged across calendar months had a difference of +1.26 mm/day in the more recent period. This summarizes monthly means without weighting them by the number of days, and describes daily rainfall rather than monthly totals. The largest monthly increase occurred in February, with a difference of +2.10 mm/day. In April, the largest decrease was a difference of -0.16 mm/day; these extremes show that the monthly pattern was not uniform.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall averaged across calendar months had a difference of -0.58 mm/day. This unweighted mean compares monthly averages of daily amounts; it is not a comparison of monthly snowfall totals. The largest monthly decrease was in November, with a difference of -2.86 mm/day. In October, snowfall instead had its largest monthly increase, a difference of +0.55 mm/day; the opposing monthly differences help explain why a single mean does not describe each month.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration, averaged across calendar months, had a difference of -0.41 hours/day compared with the earlier reference period. This is an unweighted comparison of monthly daily-hour means, not a statement about total sunshine over the year or conditions on every day. The largest monthly increase was recorded in April, at a difference of +0.47 hours/day. The largest decrease came in May, with a difference of -1.01 hours/day, so the overall mean does not capture every month’s change.