UKCP09: 1961-1990 Baseline Monthly Rainfall Days for UK Regions

UKCP09 provides long-term average climate data for the 1961-1990 baseline period. The dataset contains monthly averages for days with rainfall ≥ 10 mm, aggregated across 14 UK administrative regions and 23 river basins. It was produced by the Met Office with support from Defra and is promoted by the UK Climate Impacts Programme.

Use Cases

• Analyzing regional precipitation extremes based on days of heavy rainfall.
• Comparing baseline climate conditions between administrative regions and river basins.
• Validating hydrological models using long-term monthly average data.
• Assessing climate change impacts by comparing this baseline to more recent data.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a defined 30-year climate baseline (1961-1990).
• Coverage includes two distinct spatial units: 14 administrative regions and 23 river basins.
• Values are spatially aggregated averages from a underlying 5 x 5 km grid.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Access requires registration on the Met Office website, adding a step to data acquisition.

Provenance

Source

Met Office, UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Collection Method

Averages of 5 x 5 km grid cell values within each region and river basin.

Time Range

1961-1990

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:32:38.808810; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United Kingdom (14 administrative regions, 23 river basins)