UKCP09: 5km Gridded Annual Average Heating Degree Days for the UK

12 files provide monthly averages of heating degree days across the UK on a 5km grid for the 1961-1990 period. The dataset was created with financial support from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and promoted by the UK Climate Impacts Programme. Data access requires registration on the Met Office website.

Use Cases

• Modeling historical building energy demand based on gridded heating degree day data.
• Analyzing spatial climate patterns across the UK based on the 5km resolution grid.
• Establishing a 1961-1990 climate baseline for comparison with future projections.
• Informing regional energy policy and infrastructure planning based on historical heating needs.

Strengths

• Provides data for a 30-year baseline period (1961-1990).
• Offers spatially detailed coverage with a 5km resolution grid across the UK.
• Includes 12 separate files, one for each month's average.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data freshness should be verified; the last metadata update is 2026-07-08.
• The dataset's temporal coverage is limited to a historical period (1961-1990).

Provenance

Source

Met Office (UK), with support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Collection Method

Likely derived from meteorological station observations interpolated to a grid.

Time Range

1961-1990 (average period).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:31:15.421492; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United Kingdom, gridded at 5km resolution.