UKCP09: 1961-1990 Baseline Monthly Mean Air Temperature for UK Regions

Long-term 1961-1990 climate baseline averages for mean air temperature across 14 UK administrative regions and 23 river basins. Each regional value is an average of the underlying 5 x 5 km grid cell values, provided as space-delimited text files requiring registration on the Met Office website. The datasets were created with financial support from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and promoted by the UK Climate Impacts Programme.

Use Cases

• Calculate regional climate anomalies based on the 1961-1990 baseline averages mentioned in the description
• Compare monthly temperature patterns between administrative regions and river basins described in the data
• Validate downscaled climate model outputs using the gridded 5 x 5 km average values provided for each region

Strengths

• Covers a standard 30-year climate baseline period (1961-1990)
• Provides data for two distinct spatial frameworks: 14 administrative regions and 23 river basins
• Values are derived from a consistent 5 x 5 km grid, suggesting spatial uniformity

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 Projections (UKCP09)

Collection Method

Averages of 5 x 5 km grid cell values falling within defined regional boundaries

Time Range

1961-1990

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:31:18.380543; freshness should be verified

Geography

United Kingdom (14 administrative regions, 23 river basins)