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Has the climate in Richmond changed?

Richmond has warmed about 3°F since 1971.

About 0.6°F per decade, measured from Richmond's official daily weather records, 1971–2025. Individual years still bounce around — some recent ones came in cool — but the long-term line has clearly risen.

Is that a lot? Richmond's warming is broadly in line with other cities in United States — neither unusually fast nor unusually slow.

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
20 fewer nights
1970s
131 / yr
Recent
111 / yr
Milder winters — fewer frosts
Average temperature
+2.2°F
1970s
50.6°F
Recent
52.8°F
A steady upward drift
Hot days above 90°F
about the same
1970s
14 / yr
Recent
14 / yr
About the same number of heat days
Rainy days
7 more days
1970s
128 / yr
Recent
135 / yr
Wetter on average

Richmond's temperature, year by year

Average temperature for each year from 1971 to 2025.

47°49°51°53°55°57°1971: 51.1°F1972: 49.8°F1973: 52.5°F1974: 49.0°F1975: 51.9°F1976: 49.7°F1977: 50.8°F1978: 48.4°F1979: 49.2°F1980: 50.3°F1981: 50.5°F1982: 50.7°F1983: 51.5°F1984: 51.2°F1985: 50.8°F1986: 52.6°F1988: 50.7°F1989: 50.0°F1990: 53.2°F1991: 53.3°F1992: 50.9°F1993: 50.8°F1994: 51.3°F1995: 51.0°F1996: 50.0°F1997: 50.1°F1998: 54.4°F1999: 52.2°F2000: 50.1°F2001: 52.9°F2002: 53.1°F2003: 50.8°F2004: 52.3°F2005: 52.4°F2006: 53.4°F2007: 53.6°F2008: 53.7°F2009: 52.2°F2010: 52.0°F2011: 53.3°F2012: 55.2°F2013: 51.6°F2014: 50.4°F2015: 52.6°F2016: 54.9°F2017: 54.1°F2018: 53.3°F2019: 52.9°F2020: 52.2°F2021: 52.5°F2022: 51.1°F2023: 52.9°F2024: 53.9°F2025: 51.6°Flong-term trend1971198019902000201020202025
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.

In day-to-day terms, that long-term shift shows up as about 13 fewer freezing nights a year and about 2 more days above 90°F compared with the 1970s.

When in the year the change shows up

How much warmer each month is now than in the 1970s. Useful if you garden or care about a particular season — otherwise the headline above already has the answer.

0.0°+0.5°+1.0°+1.5°+2.0°+2.5°January: +2.1°F+2.1JFebruary: +1.3°F+1.3FMarch: +0.6°F+0.6MApril: +1.8°F+1.8AMay: +1.6°F+1.6MJune: +1.5°F+1.5JJuly: +0.8°F+0.8JAugust: +1.2°F+1.2ASeptember: +1.4°F+1.4SOctober: +1.4°F+1.4ONovember: +0.4°F+0.4NDecember: +1.5°F+1.5D

January has warmed the most — about 2.1°F. The warming runs across the whole year, not just one season.

Methodology & sources

Temperature — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Richmond Wtr Wks (NOAA GHCN station USC00127370), about 3 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →