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ERA5-Land Data

Overview

ERA5-Land is a reanalysis dataset produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). It provides hourly high-resolution information about land surface variables from 1950 to present, with a spatial resolution of 0.1° x 0.1°. It's a downscaled version of the atmospheric data from the ERA5 reanalysis, focusing specifically on land surface parameters.

Data Specifications

  • Provider: ECMWF via Copernicus Climate Data Store
  • Frequency: Hourly (aggregated to daily for most use cases)
  • Data Latency: Approximately 7 days
  • Geospatial Resolution: 0.1° (approximately 9-10 km)
  • Temporal Coverage: 1950 to present
  • Data Format: NetCDF
  • Coverage: Global
  • Vertical Resolution: Land surface only (compared to 137 levels in ERA5)

Variables Available

  • Precipitation
  • Temperature (2m, min, max)
  • Relative Humidity
  • Soil Moisture (4 layers)
  • Soil Temperature (4 layers)
  • Snow Depth
  • Snow Density
  • Leaf Area Index
  • Evaporation
  • Runoff
  • And many more land surface parameters

Key Features

  • Provides a consistent view of the evolution of land variables over several decades
  • Higher spatial resolution than standard ERA5 (0.1° vs. 0.25°)
  • Includes uncertainty estimates for all variables
  • Available in reduced spatial and temporal resolutions
  • Consistent physics and methodology throughout the entire time period

Use in Parametric Insurance

ERA5-Land data is particularly useful for agricultural insurance products due to its high spatial resolution and comprehensive land surface parameters. It provides reliable historical data for:

  • Drought indices
  • Excess rainfall triggers
  • Soil moisture analysis
  • Temperature-related insurance products
  • Snow cover/depth-based triggers

Data Access

The data is accessible through the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS) API or through direct download from the CDS website.