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Global Historical Climatology Network - Monthly (GHCN-M), Version 2

Metadata Updated: September 19, 2023

Please note, the temperature portion of this dataset has been superseded by a newer version. Users should not use this version except in rare cases (e.g., when reproducing previous studies that used this version). The precipitation subset of this dataset is still the latest version available. The Global Historical Climatology Network Monthly (GHCN-M) Version 2 dataset created by the NCDC contains historical temperature, precipitation, and pressure data for thousands of land stations worldwide. The period of record varies from station to station, with several thousand extending back to 1950 and several hundred being updated monthly. Both historical and near-real-time GHCN-M data undergo rigorous quality assurance reviews. These reviews include pre-processing checks on source data, time series checks that identify spurious changes in the mean and variance, spatial comparisons that verify the accuracy of the climatological mean and the seasonal cycle, and neighbor checks that identify outliers from both a temporal and a spatial perspective. Only one file for the temperature data is available from the archive (file is for period of record ending in 2011), but precipitation data has been archived daily since 2012.

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 June 23, 2023
Metadata Created Date February 3, 2023
Metadata Updated Date September 19, 2023
Reference Date(s) January 1, 1997 (publication), January 1, 2011 (revision)
Frequency Of Update daily

Metadata Source

Harvested from ncdc

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Date June 23, 2023
Metadata Created Date February 3, 2023
Metadata Updated Date September 19, 2023
Reference Date(s) January 1, 1997 (publication), January 1, 2011 (revision)
Responsible Party DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce (Point of Contact); NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (Point of Contact)
Contact Email
Guid gov.noaa.ncdc:C00835
Category Tag 16E15F51 D96E 4051 9124 75665Abdc6Ff ["Arctic","Coastal Flooding","Ecosystem Vulnerability","Energy Infrastructure","Food Resilience","Human Health","Transportation","Water"]
Access Constraints **Please note, the temperature portion of this dataset has been superseded by a newer version. Users should not use this version except in rare cases (e.g., when reproducing previous studies that used this version). The precipitation subset of this dataset is still the latest version available.**, Cite as: Thomas C. Peterson and Russell S. Vose (1997): Global Historical Climatology Network - Monthly (GHCN-M), Version 3. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5X34VDR [access date]., 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 90.0
Bbox South Lat -90.0
Bbox West Long -180.0
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update daily
Harvest Object Id e0f551af-2882-4cdc-8612-d6035e50bbaa
Harvest Source Id 2cb3ef77-1683-4c2a-9119-dc65e50917c6
Harvest Source Title ncdc
Licence
Lineage GHCN-Monthly Version 2 has significant improvements over version 1: more data (e.g., the precipitation data set has data from over 20,000 stations) from more sources (over 30 different sources including the Colonial Era Archive Project contributed to version 2), more elements (mean monthly maximum and minimum temperature data as well as mean temperature), better Quality Control, homogeneity adjustments, and a wider selection of station metadata. GHCN-Monthly Version 2 currently provides precipitation data that is available from 20,590 stations and sea level pressure data for 2,668 stations. The [now superseded] temperature product contains mean temperature data for 7,280 stations and maximum/minimum temperature data for 4,966 stations (available until 2011). All stations have at least 10 years of data. The archive also contains homogeneity-adjusted data for a subset of this network (5,206 mean temperature stations and 3,647 maximum/minimum temperature stations). The homogeneity-adjusted network is somewhat smaller because at least 20 years of data were required to compute reliable discontinuity adjustments and the homogeneity of some isolated stations could not be adequately assessed.
Metadata Language eng; USA
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-180.0, -90.0], [180.0, -90.0], [180.0, 90.0], [-180.0, 90.0], [-180.0, -90.0]]]}
Progress completed
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 1701-01-01

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