CRU sc-PDSI (self-calibrating PDSI) over Europe & North America

CRU sc-PDSI (self-calibrating PDSI) over Europe & North America
Maps of the monthly self-calibrating Palmer drought severity index (SCPDSI) have been calculated for the period 1901–2002 for the contiguous United States (20°–50°N and 130°–60°W) and Europe (35°–70°N, 10°W–60°E) with a spatial resolution of 0.5° × 0.5°

Key Strengths

High resolution
The SC-PDSI improves upon the PDSI by maintaining consistent behavior of the index over diverse climatological regions. This makes spatial comparisons of SC-PDSI values on continental scales more meaningful.

Key Limitations

Not updated

Please cite data sources, following the data providers' instructions
Dataset DOIs
None
Hosted Climate Index Files
None
Data Access
None
Usage Restrictions
None

Cite this page

Acknowledgement of any material taken from or knowledge gained from this page is appreciated:

National Center for Atmospheric Research Staff (Eds). Last modified "The Climate Data Guide: CRU sc-PDSI (self-calibrating PDSI) over Europe & North America.” Retrieved from https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/climate-data/cru-sc-pdsi-self-calibrating-pdsi-over-europe-north-america on 2025-08-29.


Citation of datasets is separate and should be done according to the data providers' instructions. If known to us, data citation instructions are given in the Data Access section, above.


Acknowledgement of the Climate Data Guide project is also appreciated:

Schneider, D. P., C. Deser, J. Fasullo, and K. E. Trenberth, 2013: Climate Data Guide Spurs Discovery and Understanding. Eos Trans. AGU, 94, 121–122, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013eo130001

Key Figures

Climate Data Guide Image: CRU-sc PDSI USA

CRU self calibrating PDSI for assorted months over the USA. (Climate Data Guide; D. Shea)
Climate Data Guide Image: CRU-sc PDSI Europe

CRU self calibrating PDSI for assorted months over Europe. (Climate Data Guide; D. Shea)

Other Information

Earth system components and main variables
Land, Drought
Type of data product
Climate Indices, Drought, sc-PDSI, Gridded from obs
Dataset collections
None

Years of record
to
Metadata ID
None
Data time period extended
No, data set not being extended
Timestep
Monthly
Domain
Europe, North America
Formats:
ascii
Input Data
None
Vertical Levels:
Surface Data Set
Missing Data Flag
None
Ocean or Land
Land Only
Spatial Resolution

0.5x0.5

Model Resolution (reanalysis)
None
Data Assimilation Method
None
Model Vintage (reanalysis)
None