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Global Historical Climatology Network - Daily (GHCN-Daily), Version 3

Metadata Updated: September 1, 2024

The Global Historical Climatology Network - Daily (GHCN-Daily/GHCNd) dataset integrates daily climate observations from approximately 30 different data sources. Version 3 was released in September 2012 with the addition of data from two additional station networks. Changes to the processing system associated with the version 3 release also allowed for updates to occur 7 days a week rather than only on most weekdays. Version 3 contains station-based measurements from well over 90,000 land-based stations worldwide, about two thirds of which are for precipitation measurement only. Other meteorological elements include, but are not limited to, daily maximum and minimum temperature, temperature at the time of observation, snowfall and snow depth. Over 25,000 stations are regularly updated with observations from within roughly the last month. The dataset is also routinely reconstructed (usually every week) from its roughly 30 data sources to ensure that GHCNd is generally in sync with its growing list of constituent sources. During this process, quality assurance checks are applied to the full dataset. Where possible, GHCNd station data are also updated daily from a variety of data streams. Station values for each daily update also undergo a suite of quality checks.

Access & Use Information

License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Date August 8, 2024
Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
Metadata Updated Date September 1, 2024
Reference Date(s) September 24, 2012 (publication)
Frequency Of Update daily

Metadata Source

Harvested from ncdc

Graphic Preview

Map of GHCNd stations

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Date August 8, 2024
Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
Metadata Updated Date September 1, 2024
Reference Date(s) September 24, 2012 (publication)
Responsible Party DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce (Point of Contact)
Contact Email
Guid gov.noaa.ncdc:C00861
Category Tag 16E15F51 D96E 4051 9124 75665Abdc6Ff ["Melting Glaciers, Snow and Ice","Arctic Weather and Extreme Events","Arctic","Energy Infrastructure","Atmospheric, Earth and Ocean Sciences","Transportation","Physical Data","Water","Human Health","Ecosystem Vulnerability","Atmospheric, Earth and Ocean Sciences","Climatology and Meteorology"]
Access Constraints Cite as: Menne, Matthew J., Imke Durre, Bryant Korzeniewski, Shelley McNeill, Kristy Thomas, Xungang Yin, Steven Anthony, Ron Ray, Russell S. Vose, Byron E.Gleason, and Tamara G. Houston (2012): Global Historical Climatology Network - Daily (GHCN-Daily), Version 3. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Climatic Data Center. doi:10.7289/V5D21VHZ [access date]., Publications citing this dataset should also cite the following article: Matthew J. Menne, Imke Durre, Russell S. Vose, Byron E. Gleason, and Tamara G. Houston, 2012: An Overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network-Daily Database. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 29, 897-910. doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-11-00103.1., Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Bbox East Long 180.0
Bbox North Lat 83.0
Bbox South Lat -90.0
Bbox West Long -180.0
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update daily
Graphic Preview Description Map of GHCNd stations
Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/metadata/images/C00861_GHCN-D_stations.png
Graphic Preview Type PNG
Harvest Object Id 2b17215c-d9b8-4d7b-8890-133dc1748dbb
Harvest Source Id 2cb3ef77-1683-4c2a-9119-dc65e50917c6
Harvest Source Title ncdc
Licence The dataset cannot be used to quantify all aspects of climate variability and change without any additional processing. In general, the stations providing daily observations were not managed to meet the desired standards for climate monitoring. Rather, the stations were deployed to meet the demands of agriculture, hydrology, weather forecasting, aviation, etc. GHCNd data have not been homogenized to account for the potential artifacts associated with the various reporting practices at stations. Users must consider whether the potential for changes in systematic bias might be important for their particular application.
Lineage The data were produced by and are archived at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
Metadata Language eng; USA
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-180.0, -90.0], [180.0, -90.0], [180.0, 83.0], [-180.0, 83.0], [-180.0, -90.0]]]}
Progress onGoing
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 1880-01-01

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