News

December was the second warmest in Philadelphia since 1872

The not-so-white Christmas wasn’t normal; the month was also drier than normal.

Climate change will bring warmer and wetter weather to Philadelphia. Although the increased temperatures aligned with trends, it was also a drier month.

The average December temperature was 45.3°, which was 6.7° above normal. The temperature made it the second warmest December on record since 1872, with the warmest being 2015. Winter is the fastest-warming season in Pennsylvania, according to Climate Matters.

The 1.64 inches of precipitation for December was only 41% of the normal amount compared to data from 1991-2020.

Photo by Chris Henry on Unsplash


Julie Hancher

Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake.

Recent Posts

Moving Fast and Breaking Climate goals: What Pennsylvania’s Data Center boom means for local communities

$90 billion in investments could reshape the energy landscape, but community voices and renewable alternatives…

6 days ago

Trash competition, government shutdown, November elections, & more

Catch up on the latest sustainability news:  Block by Block launches citywide cleanup competition with…

7 days ago

From coal to solar affordability: PA’s next energy chapter shaped by HB 504

Farmers and city residents alike stand to benefit from local, homegrown power, says Land &…

1 week ago

Celebrating Solar at “Sun Day,” trash burning ban proposed & more

Catch up on the latest sustainability news:  Philly mobilizes for Sun Day solar energy celebration.…

2 weeks ago

You can be exposed to PFAS through food, water, even swimming in lakes – new maps show how risk from ‘forever chemicals’ varies

Drinking water isn’t the only way people are exposed to PFAS today. This article is…

2 weeks ago

Building connections: How Ash Richards uses land care as cultural preservation

The city’s Director of Urban Agriculture talks about the impact of history, gardening as collective…

2 weeks ago