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HadEX - global climate extremes indices

Please note that an updated version of this dataset is available from the HadEX2 pages.

HadEX is a global land-based climate extremes dataset produced through the coordination of the joint WMO CCl/CLIVAR/JCOMM Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI). It comprises of 27 indices of temperature and precipitation on a 2.5° x 3.75° grid from 1951 to 2003. The indices represent seasonal and/or annual values derived from daily station data. Data are calculated using RClimDex/FClimDex software; developed and maintained on behalf of the ETCCDI by the Climate Research Branch of the Meteorological Service of Canada.

Brief description of the data

Indices are derived from RClimDex using high quality daily data from about 2500 temperature stations and 6000 precipitation stations. Angular-distance weighting is used to interpolate the station data onto the required grid. The software, comprehensive descriptions of all of the indices, details of quality control procedures and references to relevant literature are available from http://etccdi.pacificclimate.org/indices_def.shtml, as are most of the station indices (although not the raw daily data). For a more detailed description of the dataset and its production process, see the paper cited below. We strongly recommend that you read this paper before using the data.

Data are available from the download page without charge for the purposes of private study and scientific research, but please read the terms and conditions.

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References

When using the data set in a paper, the following is the correct citation to use. We strongly recommend that you read this paper before making use of the data.

Alexander, L. V., et al. (2006), Global observed changes in daily climate extremes of temperature and precipitation, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D05109, doi:10.1029/2005JD006290. (PDF file, 4 MB)

Dataset produced in collaboration with: