Abstract
Climate change is impacting every part of our planet, from mountains to deserts to coastal areas to the tundra and beyond. Chile is an interesting country to use as a lens for examining climate change due to its vast latitudinal and altitudinal expansiveness. Existing literature about Chile’s climate is regionally focused on specific variables, aiming to answer specific questions making it difficult to piece together a more comprehensive understanding of the state of Chile’s climate. This study examines 48 years of temperature, precipitation, sea surface temperature, and wind data from 24 stations in Chile to better understand how and why Chile’s climate has changed on a broader scale. Using the Mann-Kendall test, trends were identified dictating the extent to which Chile’s climate has changed. Major findings include deviations from typical, global patterns. Annual temperatures were found to increase moving toward the equator, contrary to the idea that Earth’s poles are warming more rapidly. Analysis shows sea surface temperatures overwhelmingly decreased, while the majority of global findings indicate extreme levels of warming. Additionally, precipitation has decreased to a greater extent in areas with more precipitation than areas with drier climates, defying the paradigm that dry areas are becoming increasingly drier. Together, results from this study add to a growing body of literature about climate change in Chile and can be used to inform existing climate adaptation strategies and shed light on areas for improvement.