Climate Change Chart of Suva, Fiji

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference of +0.26 °C compared with the earlier reference period; this unweighted summary describes the average of the monthly means, not a day-weighted annual average or daytime highs. The monthly extremes were not uniform: November recorded the largest increase, a difference of +0.83 °C, while August had the largest decrease, a difference of -0.21 °C. These are comparisons of monthly mean conditions between the two reference periods, not evidence of a continuous change between them.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall averaged across calendar months had a difference of -0.26 mm/day in the more recent period. This is an unweighted comparison of monthly mean daily amounts, rather than a change in monthly rainfall totals or a day-weighted annual average. The largest monthly increase occurred in February, with a difference of +2.80 mm/day; by contrast, July had the largest decrease, a difference of -1.48 mm/day. Those monthly comparisons show that the overall mean difference does not describe every month individually, and they do not establish a continuous pattern between the reference periods.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration, averaged across calendar months, had a difference of -0.63 hours/day compared with the earlier reference period. This is an unweighted summary of monthly means, not a day-weighted annual average. The largest monthly decrease was in October, at a difference of -1.11 hours/day. That monthly extreme need not represent every month, while the mean difference summarizes the calendar-month averages as a whole; neither comparison indicates a continuous change between the reference periods.