Global Monthly Land Temperature and Precipitation Records

Monthly climatological observations for mean maximum temperature, minimum temperature, mean temperature, and total precipitation. The dataset provides temperature data for 7,280 stations across 226 countries and territories, with ongoing updates for over 2,000 stations. It is maintained by NOAA NCEI, with its foundational version developed in the early 1990s and a major version 3 update released in 2011.

Use Cases

• Analyze long-term trends in monthly mean temperature across 7,280 global stations.
• Compare monthly mean maximum and minimum temperature records to study diurnal temperature range.
• Model relationships between monthly total precipitation and monthly mean temperature for a given station.
• Apply homogeneity adjustments to station temperature series to remove non-climatic biases.
• Monitor current climate conditions using the ongoing monthly updates from over 2,000 stations.

Strengths

• Temperature data from 7,280 stations across 226 countries and territories.
• Includes homogeneity adjustments to reduce non-climatic bias in the temperature record.
• Receives ongoing monthly updates for over 2,000 stations.

Limitations

• Precipitation data is from an older version (v2), while temperature elements are from different versions (v3, v4 BETA), creating potential consistency issues.
• The description notes users of monthly mean temperature should consult version guidance, indicating complexity in version usage.

Provenance

Source

NOAA NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information).

Collection Method

Consolidated station records with homogeneity adjustments and quality assurance procedures.

Time Range

Long-term historical records, with ongoing monthly updates.

Freshness

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Geography

Global land surface, 226 countries and territories.