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Vancouver: weather history since 1896

Vancouver is a weather station located 2 m above sea level, 3 km from Richmond. Its records go back to 1896: 125 years of temperature are available up to 2020, along with rainfall and a comparison with two reference normals. Closed series: the records of this station end in 2020. Over 1991–2020 the annual mean temperature there is 10.7 °C, clearly higher than over 1961–1990 (9.9 °C): a difference of 0.8 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2015 (11.7 °C) and the coldest 1916 (7.8 °C). The last complete year, 2020, ranks 13 out of 125, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2020, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.22 °C per decade. The station ranks 153 out of 240 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.

Annual mean temperature since 1896

81012
1896191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020
Mean temperature of the year   10-year running mean   1961–1990 normal (9.9 °C)   1991–2020 normal (10.7 °C)

The first ten years of the series (1896–1905) average 8.8 °C; the last ten (2011–2020) average 10.8 °C, a difference of +2.1 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 5 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2015 (11.7 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 10.8 °C (2019) and bottoms out at 8.6 °C (1916).

Annual rainfall since 1896

05001000150020002500
1896191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020
Rainfall of the year   Series average (1893 mm)

On average 1893 mm of rain falls per year over the 77 documented years. The wettest year, 1997, received 2496 mm; the driest, 1929, only 1082 mm, which is 2.3 times less. Over 1961–1990, December is on average the wettest month (301 mm) and August the driest (60 mm). Between 1986 and 2005, 11 years out of 20 exceeded the series average.

Monthly normals: 1961–1990 against 1991–2020

The table compares, month by month, the mean temperature and the rainfall total of two thirty-year reference periods. The difference column shows what the recent period changes compared with the earlier one.

Monthly temperature and rainfall normals, 1961–1990 and 1991–2020
MonthTemp. 1961–1990Temp. 1991–2020DifferenceRain 1961–1990Rain 1991–2020Difference
January3.1 °C4.3 °C+1.2 °C258 mm––
February4.8 °C5.0 °C+0.2 °C217 mm––
March6.3 °C6.9 °C+0.6 °C183 mm––
April8.8 °C9.6 °C+0.8 °C138 mm––
May12.1 °C13.2 °C+1.1 °C100 mm––
June15.2 °C15.8 °C+0.6 °C79 mm––
July17.2 °C18.3 °C+1.1 °C65 mm––
August17.4 °C18.4 °C+1.0 °C60 mm––
September14.3 °C15.3 °C+1.0 °C103 mm––
October10.1 °C10.6 °C+0.5 °C199 mm––
November6.2 °C6.7 °C+0.5 °C285 mm––
December3.6 °C4.1 °C+0.5 °C301 mm––

The largest temperature change is in January (+1.2 °C) and the smallest in February (+0.2 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.8 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before.

Records at Vancouver

  • Warmest year: 11.7 °C, in 2015
  • Coldest year: 7.8 °C, in 1916
  • Driest year: 1082 mm, in 1929
  • Wettest year: 2496 mm, in 1997
  • Warmest month: 20.6 °C, in July 1958
  • Coldest month: −6.3 °C, in January 1950
  • Wettest month: 645 mm, in January 1935

3.9 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Daily records are not part of the dataset for this station: only annual and monthly extremes are shown.

Temperature trend over 1961–2020

The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.22 °C per decade between 1961 and 2020, about +1.3 °C over the whole period. That is slower than the median of the 240 stations (+0.25 °C per decade), by 0.03 °C per decade: the station ranks 153 out of 240.

Data source and licence

Data source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (dataset “AHCCD (ahccd-monthly) + climate-daily”), licence Open Government Licence – Canada. Last updated: 29 October 2026.

The data for Vancouver are shown as the source publishes them; this site does not correct them. A year is kept only if at least eleven months of measurements are available, and a normal is computed only with at least twenty years of data out of its thirty. Temperatures are rounded to 0.1 °C and rainfall to the millimetre. The station is one of 240 stations in Canada: the overview page lets you compare them.

Frequently asked questions

What is the annual mean temperature at Vancouver?

Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Vancouver is 10.7 °C. It was 9.9 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.8 °C.

What is the warmest year ever measured at Vancouver?

Since records began in 1896, the warmest year at Vancouver is 2015, at 11.7 °C on average. The coldest is 1916 (7.8 °C).

Is the climate at Vancouver getting warmer?

Yes: at Vancouver, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.22 °C per decade between 1961 and 2020, +1.3 °C in total. 5 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.

Towns near this station

Neighbouring stations

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