HadGHCND (aka HadGHCNDEX) is a gridded daily dataset of near-surface maximum (TX) and minimum (TN) temperature observations. Anomalies (departures from 1961-1990 climatology) and actual temperatures are distributed in two separate files. The dataset is designed primarily for the analysis of climate extremes and also for climate model evaluation. It spans the years 1950 to present and is available on a 2.5° latitude by 3.75° longitude grid. The data are gridded using an angular distance weighting scheme. Input data consists of approximately 3000 stations within the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) daily data base. Stations with 20 or more years of record were selected for gridding.
Key Strengths:
- Long record of daily temperature extremes
Key Limitations:
- Fewer indices than GHCHNDEX or HadEX2
- Sparse coverage in Southern Hemisphere and Tropics
Years of Record
1949/12 to 2011/11
Formats
Timestep
Daily
Data Time Period Extended?
yes, data set is extended
Domain
Spatial Resolution
2.5 x 3.75
Ocean or Land
Land Only
Missing Data Flag
missing data present
Vertical Levels
Input Data
station data
Data Access: Please Cite data sources, following the data providers' instructions.
- Caesar, J., L. Alexander, and R. Vose (2006), Large-scale changes in observed daily maximum and minimum temperatures: Creation and analysis of a new gridded data set, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D05101
- Donat, M.G. et al (2013): Global land-based datasets for monitoring climatic extremes. Bull. Amer. Met. Soc
- Alexander L. V. et al (2006): Global observed changes in daily climate extremes of temperature and precipitation. Journal of Geophysical 269 Research-Atmospheres, 111, D05109
