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Has the climate in Fairbanks changed?

Fairbanks has warmed about 3°F since 2005.

About 1.4°F per decade, measured from Fairbanks's official daily weather records, 2005–2025. Individual years still bounce around — some recent ones came in cool — but the long-term line has clearly risen.

Is that a lot? Fairbanks's climate has warmed faster than most other cities in United States.

What has actually changed

Each card compares the 1970s (the first ten years of the record) with recent years (the last ten) — the same span the headline and the chart use.

Freezing nights
5 fewer nights
1970s
227 / yr
Recent
222 / yr
Milder winters — fewer frosts
Average temperature
+1.8°F
1970s
27.6°F
Recent
29.4°F
A steady upward drift
Hot days above 90°F
about the same
1970s
0 / yr
Recent
0 / yr
About the same number of heat days
Rainy days
24 more days
1970s
103 / yr
Recent
127 / yr
Wetter on average

Fairbanks's temperature, year by year

Average temperature for each year from 2005 to 2025.

22°24°26°28°30°32°34°2005: 30.0°F2006: 26.9°F2007: 28.7°F2008: 23.1°F2009: 27.7°F2010: 28.7°F2011: 28.2°F2012: 24.8°F2013: 28.0°F2014: 30.2°F2015: 30.5°F2016: 31.7°F2017: 30.1°F2018: 30.8°F2019: 32.8°F2020: 27.3°F2021: 27.3°F2022: 28.6°F2023: 29.5°F2024: 29.2°F2025: 31.0°Flong-term trend2005201020202025
a warmer-than-average year a cooler-than-average year

Each bar is one year. Most recent years sit above the older ones. Some recent years still came in cool — warming is a slope, not a straight climb.

Methodology & sources

Temperature — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Fairbanks Intl AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00026411), about 8 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →