Climate Change Chart of Oxford, Great Britain

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference of +0.88 °C in the more recent period; this is an unweighted comparison of monthly means, not a day-weighted annual average or a measure of daytime highs. The largest monthly increase was in December, with a difference of +1.94 °C compared with the earlier reference period. By contrast, April had the largest monthly decrease, a difference of -0.43 °C.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall decreased on average across calendar months, with an unweighted difference of -0.14 mm/day between the reference periods. This is a comparison of monthly means, not monthly snowfall totals, and the average does not mean that every month decreased. The largest monthly decrease was in January, with a difference of -1.76 mm/day. In December, mean daily snowfall instead had the largest increase, a difference of +0.34 mm/day; these monthly contrasts help explain why the across-month average should not be read as a uniform change.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration was lower on average across calendar months in the more recent period, with an unweighted difference of -0.29 hours/day. The average summarizes monthly means and does not imply that sunshine decreased in every month. The largest monthly decrease was in June, where mean daily sunshine had a difference of -1.11 hours/day compared with the earlier reference period. The largest increase, in February, was a difference of +0.35 hours/day, showing that monthly changes were not uniform in direction.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall, rather than monthly rainfall totals, was higher on average across calendar months: the difference in the unweighted monthly means was +0.60 mm/day compared with the earlier reference period. This describes an aggregate across months, not a change in every month's daily rainfall. The largest monthly increase in mean daily rainfall occurred in October, with a difference of +1.18 mm/day. This identifies the strongest monthly increase, not a general pattern applying to all months.