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Has the climate in South Valley changed?

South Valley has warmed about 3.8°F since 1971.

About 0.7°F per decade, measured from South Valley'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? South Valley'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
29 fewer nights
1970s
120 / yr
Recent
91 / yr
Milder winters — fewer frosts
Average temperature
+2.5°F
1970s
56.3°F
Recent
58.8°F
A steady upward drift
Hot days above 90°F
7 more days
1970s
64 / yr
Recent
71 / yr
More days of serious heat
Rainy days
13 fewer days
1970s
65 / yr
Recent
52 / yr
Drier on average

South Valley's temperature, year by year

Average temperature for each year from 1971 to 2025.

53°55°57°59°61°1971: 54.9°F1972: 56.7°F1973: 54.9°F1974: 56.7°F1975: 54.4°F1976: 54.9°F1977: 56.8°F1978: 57.4°F1979: 57.3°F1980: 57.5°F1981: 58.1°F1982: 56.3°F1983: 56.9°F1984: 56.0°F1985: 56.3°F1986: 56.6°F1987: 55.8°F1988: 56.6°F1989: 58.1°F1990: 56.6°F1991: 56.9°F1992: 56.3°F1993: 57.6°F1994: 59.1°F1995: 59.5°F1996: 58.3°F1997: 56.4°F1998: 57.5°F1999: 57.6°F2000: 58.7°F2001: 58.5°F2002: 57.7°F2003: 59.5°F2004: 57.3°F2005: 58.8°F2006: 58.0°F2007: 58.0°F2008: 57.4°F2009: 58.1°F2010: 58.3°F2011: 58.4°F2012: 59.9°F2013: 57.6°F2014: 58.7°F2015: 58.6°F2016: 59.2°F2017: 60.1°F2018: 59.1°F2019: 57.5°F2020: 59.1°F2021: 59.0°F2022: 58.2°F2023: 59.1°F2024: 60.0°F2025: 60.8°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 18 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°January: +1.7°F+1.7JFebruary: +0.5°F+0.5FMarch: +1.4°F+1.4MApril: +1.3°F+1.3AMay: +1.4°F+1.4MJune: +1.3°F+1.3JJuly: +0.4°F+0.4JAugust: +0.8°F+0.8ASeptember: +1.2°F+1.2SOctober: +1.1°F+1.1ONovember: +1.4°F+1.4NDecember: +0.8°F+0.8D

January has warmed the most — about 1.7°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 Albuquerque Intl AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00023050), about 7 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →