Climate Change Chart of Sicily, Italy

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference of +0.64 °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 highs. The monthly pattern was not uniform: December had the largest increase, a difference of +2.90 °C, while May had the largest decrease, a difference of -1.48 °C. These selected months illustrate the contrast in the reported monthly differences, rather than a continuous change between the reference periods.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall, rather than monthly totals, averaged across calendar months shows a difference of +0.53 mm/day in the more recent period. That unweighted mean summarizes the comparison across calendar-month means and does not imply that every month was wetter. The largest monthly increase was in November, with a difference of +1.51 mm/day; in December, the largest monthly decrease was a difference of -0.25 mm/day. These month-specific contrasts describe differences between the reference periods, not changes in rainfall on every day.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration averaged across calendar months shows a difference of -0.31 hours/day compared with the earlier period. This is an unweighted summary of the monthly means, not a day-weighted annual figure. The monthly differences varied: April recorded the largest decrease, a difference of -0.80 hours/day, whereas December had the largest increase, a difference of +0.19 hours/day. The overall mean therefore should not be read as a description of every month's sunshine duration.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall shows a difference of +0.05 mm/day when the monthly means are averaged across calendar months; this unweighted summary is not a day-weighted annual average. The largest monthly increase occurred in January, at a difference of +0.46 mm/day, while March had the largest decrease, a difference of -0.06 mm/day. These are differences in recorded mean daily amounts, not monthly snowfall totals. The small overall difference is still a reported comparison, and should not be taken to mean snowfall was absent.