Climate Change Chart of Yellowknife, Canada

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature shows a difference of +1.41 °C in the more recent period; this is an unweighted summary of monthly means, not a day-weighted annual average or a measure of daytime highs. The monthly pattern was not uniform: January had the largest increase, a difference of +3.11 °C, while March had the largest decrease, a difference of -0.51 °C. These are comparisons between reference-period averages, not evidence of a continuous change between them.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall averaged across calendar months shows a difference of +0.44 mm/day in the more recent period; this unweighted summary is not a monthly total or a day-weighted annual average. Monthly differences varied: January had the largest increase, a difference of +1.58 mm/day, whereas September had the largest decrease, a difference of -0.32 mm/day. These values compare period averages and should not be read as a continuous change or as a description of every individual month.

Changes in sunshine duration

Mean daily sunshine duration averaged across calendar months had a difference of -0.34 hours/day in the more recent period. This is an unweighted summary of monthly averages, not a day-weighted annual figure, and it does not mean every month changed by the same amount. The largest monthly decrease was in July, at a difference of -1.02 hours/day. The two reference periods provide a comparison of averages, rather than evidence of a continuous change between them.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall, rather than monthly rainfall totals, averaged across calendar months shows a difference of +0.07 mm/day in the more recent period. This unweighted summary does not imply the same change in every month. The clearest monthly increase was in July, with a difference of +0.53 mm/day; by contrast, April recorded the largest decrease, a difference of -0.07 mm/day. These comparisons describe the two periods’ monthly averages and do not establish a continuous shift or explain its cause.