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Has the climate in Bethlehem changed?

Bethlehem has warmed about 2.2°F since 1971.

About 0.4°F per decade, measured from Bethlehem'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? Bethlehem'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
1 more night
1970s
115 / yr
Recent
116 / yr
Colder winters — more frosts
Average temperature
+1.5°F
1970s
51.6°F
Recent
53.1°F
A steady upward drift
Hot days above 90°F
6 more days
1970s
15 / yr
Recent
21 / yr
More days of serious heat
Rainy days
3 more days
1970s
127 / yr
Recent
130 / yr
Wetter on average

Bethlehem's temperature, year by year

Average temperature for each year from 1971 to 2025.

48°50°52°54°56°1971: 50.9°F1972: 50.4°F1973: 53.0°F1974: 51.5°F1975: 52.3°F1976: 50.5°F1977: 52.0°F1978: 50.7°F1979: 51.9°F1980: 52.8°F1981: 51.2°F1982: 50.6°F1983: 52.3°F1984: 52.0°F1985: 52.2°F1986: 51.6°F1987: 51.9°F1988: 51.0°F1989: 50.8°F1990: 54.0°F1991: 54.0°F1992: 51.0°F1993: 52.0°F1994: 52.1°F1995: 52.0°F1996: 49.6°F1997: 50.2°F1998: 54.4°F1999: 53.0°F2000: 50.6°F2001: 51.9°F2002: 52.2°F2003: 51.3°F2004: 51.8°F2005: 52.2°F2006: 53.6°F2007: 52.1°F2008: 51.5°F2009: 50.9°F2010: 52.9°F2011: 53.3°F2012: 54.6°F2013: 51.9°F2014: 50.6°F2015: 52.8°F2016: 54.3°F2017: 54.1°F2018: 53.9°F2019: 54.4°F2020: 54.6°F2021: 53.5°F2022: 52.3°F2023: 53.7°F2024: 54.2°F2025: 52.3°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 4 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: +1.6°F+1.6FMarch: +0.8°F+0.8MApril: +1.6°F+1.6AMay: +1.2°F+1.2MJune: +1.3°F+1.3JJuly: +1.4°F+1.4JAugust: +1.4°F+1.4ASeptember: +1.8°F+1.8SOctober: +1.5°F+1.5ONovember: +0.9°F+0.9NDecember: +2.0°F+2.0D

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 Allentown Lehigh Vly Intl AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00014737), about 7 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →