Climate Change Chart of Lugano, Switzerland

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a mean difference of +1.97 °C compared with the earlier reference period; this is an unweighted average of the 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 +4.22 °C. This identifies the strongest monthly increase, not a uniform change across months or a continuous trend.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall increased by a mean difference of +0.42 mm/day averaged across calendar months; this is an unweighted summary of monthly means, not a monthly total or a claim that every month increased. The strongest monthly increase was in December, with a difference of +3.92 mm/day. In contrast, January had the largest monthly decrease, with a difference of -1.39 mm/day, showing that the monthly differences varied in direction.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall, rather than monthly rainfall totals, had a mean difference of +1.40 mm/day averaged across calendar months. This unweighted mean summarizes the monthly averages and does not mean every month became wetter. The largest monthly increase occurred in August, at a difference of +3.29 mm/day; this points to a particularly marked change in that month's daily mean, not a change applying to every day.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration had a mean difference of -0.35 hours/day averaged across calendar months, indicating lower sunshine in the more recent period on this unweighted monthly-mean measure. The monthly pattern was not uniform: January recorded the largest increase, with a difference of +0.25 hours/day, while February had the largest decrease, with a difference of -0.76 hours/day. These are differences in monthly daily averages, not descriptions of every day's sunshine.