UKCP09: 5km Gridded Long-Term Average Mean Air Temperature for the UK

UKCP09 provides 5 km gridded monthly averages for mean air temperature in degrees Celsius. The dataset contains 12 files, one for each month, representing the 1961-1990 average period. It was created with financial support from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and is promoted by the UK Climate Impacts Programme.

Use Cases

• Modeling historical climate baselines based on the 1961-1990 average period.
• Analyzing spatial temperature patterns across the UK based on the 5 km gridded data.
• Studying seasonal temperature variations based on the provided monthly average files.
• Validating climate models using the long-term average data for mean air temperature.

Strengths

• Data is provided at a 5 km spatial resolution, offering detailed geographic coverage.
• Covers a specific 30-year climatological reference period from 1961 to 1990.
• Includes 12 distinct data files, one for each calendar month.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to the specific 1961-1990 reference period.
• Row count and file sizes are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Met Office (UK)

Collection Method

Likely derived from meteorological station observations and interpolation models.

Time Range

1961-1990 (average period)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:30:46.917353; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United Kingdom