Climate Data

The Climate Data Guide is a high-traffic expert knowledge portal providing concise and reliable information on the data that are essential for monitoring and understanding the Earth System. Currently, it curates expert insights on over 200 observational datasets and indices, searchable or browseable in the list below.

To find a specific dataset or climate variable, jump to the the search box. For only the datasets paired with guidance written by experts, select the "Datasets with guidance" button when using the search box.

Data creators, data publishers, and scientists who use climate data are invited to join our Network of Experts by contributing commentaries on data strengths and limitations to the Climate Data Guide. What type of data are included? See this discussion.

With the exception of about 25 climate indices, the Climate Data Guide does not host datasets.  Data cannot be downloaded from this site. However, links are provided to download locations under the "Data Access" section of each dataset page.

Citation: Please link to this website in your work that draws upon material from this website, and cite this paper:

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. 

=> Additionally, each dataset page with expert-written guidance has its own citation example on the individual page, such that the experts who wrote the guidance may be credited. Finally, responsible use and citation of datasets is strongly encouraged.

Climate datasets

Has expert guidance
HadCRUT5_MLE annual mean global temperature anomaly Global surface temperature: Maximum Likelihood Estimates of Temperatures using HadCRUT5 (Version 1.2)

  • Years of Record

  • 1850-01 to 2023-12

The Maximum Likelihood Estimates of Temperatures using HadCRUT5 Version 1.2 (HadCRU_MLE_v1.2) dataset provides global complete surface temperature estimates since 1850, with monthly 5°x5° resolution.  It uses more sophisticated statistical models to fill data gaps in…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature at 2m Ocean SST - sea surface temperature
Snow Water Equivalent (AMSR-E) Snow Water Equivalent (AMSR-E)

  • Years of Record

  • 2002-06 to 2011-10

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) distributes daily, weekly, and monthly products which includes snow water equivalent. Note: "On 04 October 2011, the AMSR-E instrument on board the Aqua satellite stopped producing data due to a…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Snow Water Equivalent

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
California AR Feb 2017 Atmospheric Rivers: The Atmospheric River Tracking Method Intercomparison Project (ARTMIP)

  • Years of Record

  • 1980-01 to 2017-06

ARTMIP is the Atmospheric River Tracking Method Intercomparison Project. The goal of ARTMIP is to provide the community with the data necessary to quantify Atmospheric River (AR) uncertainty due to how ARs are defined or identified in gridded datasets. Atmospheric rivers…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere

    • Timestep

    • Sub-daily

    • Collections

    • None

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
RAPID: monitoring the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26.5°N RAPID: monitoring the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26.5°N

  • Years of Record

  • 2004-04 to 2017-02

"The Rapid Climate Change programme (RAPID) explores what causes rapid switches in climate, with a main (but not exclusive) focus on the Atlantic Ocean's thermohaline circulation." "A principal objective of the RAPID programme is the development and maintenance of a pre-…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean Salinity Sub Surface Temperature heat flux streamfunction

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
CARINA: Carbon in the North Altantic CARINA: Carbon in the North Altantic

  • Years of Record

  • 1978-01 to 2006-12

The CARINA (CARbon dioxide IN the Atlantic Ocean) data synthesis project is an international collaborative effort of the EU IP CARBOOCEAN, and US partners. It has produced a merged internally consistent data set of open ocean subsurface measurements for biogeochemical…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean CO2: CarbonDioxide

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Sea ice concentration data from NASA Goddard based on SSMI and NASA Team (NT2) algorithm Sea ice concentration data from NASA Goddard based on SSMI and NASA Team (NT2) algorithm

  • Years of Record

  • 1992-01 to 2008-04

The NASA Team 2 (NT2) / SSMI data set of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice concentration is available at daily timesteps and 25km spatial resolution for 1992-2008. NT2, an extension of the original NASA Team algorithm, uses SSMI 85GHz channels to help resolve ambiguity between…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Sea Ice Concentration Ocean

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
AMOC Observing Systems Observations of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)

  • Years of Record

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is comprised of a series of northward surface currents and southward currents at depth in the Atlantic Basin. It is a key part of the global ocean circulation and is responsible for substantial oceanic heat transport…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean

    • Formats

    • Timestep

    • Domain

    • Collections

    • None
Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT)

  • Years of Record

  • 1995-01 to 2005-12

"The Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) is a multidisciplinary programme which undertakes biological, chemical and physical oceanographic research during an annual voyage between the UK and destinations in the South Atlantic." As of early November, 2013, there have been…

Main variables and Earth System components

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Stratospheric Ozone: Randel & Wu 2007 Stratospheric Ozone: Randel & Wu 2007

  • Years of Record

  • 1979-01 to 2005-12

This is a monthly, zonal-mean ozone profile data set spanning 1979–2005 for altitudes from the tropopause up to 50 km. Interannual variability is based on a combination of SAGE (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment) satellite profile measurements and polar ozonesondes…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Ozone: Stratospheric
COBE North Pacific Comparison SST Data: COBEv3: Centennial in situ Observation-Based Estimates Version 3

  • Years of Record

  • 1900-01 to 2020-01

The Centennial in situ Observation-Based Estimates of Sea Surface Temperature version 3 (COBE-SST3) is a SST analysis produced by the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA). The main COBE-SST3 reconstruction provides spatially complete estimates of SST over the global…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean SST - sea surface temperature

    • Timestep

    • Daily, Monthly

    • Collections

    • None
Stratospheric Ozone: Vertically Resolved, zonal mean based on BDBP Stratospheric Ozone: Vertically Resolved, zonal mean based on BDBP

  • Years of Record

  • 1979-01 to 2007-12

Combined monthly mean vertical ozone profile database spanning the period 1979 to 2007. The database is completely filled such that there are no missing data. The raw individual ozone data are sourced from the BDBP database.  Monthly means are calculated from…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Ozone: Stratospheric

    • Timestep

    • Monthly

    • Collections

    • None
OISSTv2.1 global mean SST data: NOAA daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature version 2.1, OISSTv2.1

  • Years of Record

  • 1981-01 to 2025-01

NOAA’s daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (dOISST, also known as Reynolds’ SST or OISST) is a global SST analysis product. An SST analysis is a spatially gridded product created by interpolating and extrapolating data, resulting in a smoothed spatially-…

Main variables and Earth System components

Ocean SST - sea surface temperature

    • Timestep

    • Daily

    • Collections

    • None
The World Glacier Monitoring Service Network of Reference glaciers Observations of Glacier Mass Balance: The World Glacier Monitoring Service

  • Years of Record

  • 1949-01 to 2025-01

Mountain glaciers and ice caps have been studied as sensitive indicators of climate since the 19th century. The recognition of glacier sensitivity to climate led to the development of a global reporting system for glacier terminus change and glacier mass balance during…

Main variables and Earth System components

Cryosphere Glaciers
SSU+TLS Stratospheric Temperature Series Stratospheric Temperature: Satellite Datasets Used to Quantify Lower, Middle, and Upper Stratospheric Temperatures

  • Years of Record

  • 1989-01 to 2025-01

The temperature of the stratosphere is a key climate variable for understanding variability and change of the Earth's radiation budget, particularly due to sensitivity to changes in stratospheric ozone as well as aerosols from volcanoes and wildfires. While there are…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature
Observational Data in BAMS State of the Climate

  • Years of Record

  • 2024-01

The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) publishes a report known as the BAMS State of the Climate each year detailing the state of the climate over the previous year. This annual assessment began in 1996 and serves as a comprehensive and accessible…

Main variables and Earth System components

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Equivalent Temperature warming vs. temperature warming Equivalent Temperature: HadISDH.land and ERA5

  • Years of Record

  • 1973-01 to 2024-01

Equivalent temperature is a measure of heat in the atmosphere that accounts for the latent heat stored in water vapor in addition to sensible heat as measured by temperature. The equivalent temperature ($T_e$) scales linearly with the moist enthalpy (i.e., the temperature…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature Specific Humidity
GloLAKES Global Coverage Lake Water Storage: GloLakes

  • Years of Record

  • 1984-01 to 2025-01

Lakes and reservoirs are critical components of the hydrological cycle, particularly due to their central role in many human systems. Long-term measurements of lakes is critical for understanding the dynamics linking lake volume to the climate system and human activities…

Main variables and Earth System components

Land Water Storage

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
GNSS/ERA TCWV 2023 Total Column Water Vapor: Integrated Water Vapor from GNSS stations

  • Years of Record

  • 1994-01 to 2024-12

Total Column Water Vapor (TCWV) or Integrated Water Vapor (IWV) is a key measure of the quantity of moisture held in the atmosphere at given locations. Water vapor is a key variable for understanding the moist energetics of the atmosphere and therefore the circulation as…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Water Vapor

  • Experts contributing reviews

  • None
Night Marine Air Temperature (NMAT) Datasets: CLASSnmat and UAHNMATv1

  • Years of Record

  • 1900-01 to 2024-12

Night Marine Air Temperature (NMAT) refers to measurements of air temperature recorded with thermometers on the weather stations of ships. NMAT is a highly correlated variable with Sea Surface Temperature (SST), capturing the temperature of the atmosphere near the surface…

Main variables and Earth System components

Atmosphere Air Temperature