Global Monthly Cloudiness Means on a Half-Degree Grid

IIASA Climate Database provides long-term mean monthly cloudiness values for a global terrestrial grid. Data was compiled by Rik Leemans and Wolfgang P. Cramer from historical weather records, primarily from 1930 to 1960, and standardized onto a half-degree latitude/longitude grid. The dataset is distributed by the International Institute for Applied System Analyses (IIASA).

Use Cases

• Model vegetation distribution by correlating plant growth with monthly cloudiness values across the global grid.
• Analyze historical climate patterns by comparing the 12 monthly cloudiness values for specific latitude/longitude grid cells.
• Assess data coverage gaps for regions like Siberia or northern Canada where station density was low.
• Create baseline climate maps for ecological studies using the interpolated half-degree grid of cloudiness means.

Strengths

• Global terrestrial coverage on a standardized half-degree latitude/longitude grid.
• Data derived from weather records covering at least five years, providing a stable long-term mean.
• Includes 12 monthly values (January to December) for temporal analysis.

Limitations

• Primary source data is temporally stale, based on records from 1930-1960.
• Spatial coverage is uneven, with poor data quality in high-latitude, arid, and mountainous zones.
• No values for non-land areas (oceans), limiting maritime climate studies.

Provenance

Source

International Institute for Applied System Analyses (IIASA), compiled by Rik Leemans and Wolfgang P. Cramer.

Collection Method

Historical weather records from up to eight sources were standardized, ranked, selected, interpolated, and smoothed to fit the grid.

Time Range

Records primarily from the period 1930-1960.

Freshness

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Geography

Global terrestrial grid at half-degree resolution, with best coverage in Europe, USA, southern Canada, East Asia, and Japan.