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You are here:   Home → Natural Environment → Average Annual Air Temperatures
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Indicator: Average Annual Air Temperatures

Data and Data Discussion provided by King County DNRP

Mean Annual Temperatures in King County

Mean Annual Temperatures at SEATAC airport

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  •   Carbon Footprint --- Since 2004, the state's and King County's emissions have been on the rise. In particular, transportation related GHG emissions and total energy use in King County continue to rise.  (view data graph)
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Related Goals

Sustainability Snapshot:

At an average annual increase of 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit, the Puget Sound region warmed over the past century at a rate more than double that of global average temperature. (1) Climate models project a continued warming trend in the Pacific Northwest between 0.2 and 1.0 degrees per decade until 2050, with average warming of 3.0 degrees by the 2040s, causing significant changes such as smaller snowpacks, warmer rivers and intense dry spells.

Sustainability Trend:

Puget Sound's average annual temperature has increased at twice the rate of the global average air temperature during the 20th century.

Data Discussion

The Indicator Defined

This indicator is the average of the last ten years' annual temperature in King County as measured at the Seattle-Tacoma (SEATAC) airport compared to the historical average temperature (the average from 1949 to present). This indicator is chosen as a rough proxy to track the impact of global warming and climate change at the regional level.

Data Interpretation/Evaluation

The year 2007 was 10th warmest year for the contiguous U.S., since national records began in 1895. Overall, six of the 10 warmest years on record for the contiguous U.S. have occurred since 1998, part of a three decade period in which mean temperatures for the contiguous U.S. have risen at a rate near 0.6ºF per decade.

At SEATAC, in 2007, the mean annual air temperature was 54.4 ºF, the average annual temperature for the last ten years was 52.3 ºF, and the long term average was 51.8 ºF. This data indicates that the trends observed at SEATAC are consistent with U.S. and national trends of a warming and changing climate system.

Data Source and Limitations

Data source: Data for the mean annual temperature were reported by the Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) and supported by data collection by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), Regional Climate Centers (RCC's) and the Washington State Climate office.


Collection frequency: The agency reports and collects temperatures continuously (everyday) at sites throughout King County.

Methods for analysis: Monthly averages and mean annual temperatures were reported on WRCC websites. Some annual values were not calculated due to the following rules set by WRCC:

  •  Individual months are not used for annual or monthly statistics if more than 5 days of data are missing.
  • Individual years are not used for annual statistics if any month in that year has more than 5 days of data missing.

Data Reference: Western Regional Climate Center http://www.wrcc.dri.edu

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