NOAA GHCN Data
Overview
The Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) is an integrated database of climate summaries from land surface stations across the globe maintained by NOAA. It provides comprehensive weather station data for thousands of locations worldwide with some records extending back to the 19th century.
Data Specifications
- Provider: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Frequency: Daily
- Data Latency: Approximately 2-3 days
- Geospatial Resolution: Station-level data (over 100,000 stations worldwide)
- Temporal Coverage: Varies by station, many records extend back to the 1800s
- Data Format: CSV, ASCII
- Coverage: Global
- Quality Control: Multiple quality assurance procedures applied
Variables Available
- Daily Maximum Temperature
- Daily Minimum Temperature
- Daily Mean Temperature
- Daily Precipitation
- Snowfall
- Snow Depth
- Wind speed and direction
- Atmospheric pressure
- Relative humidity
- Cloud cover
- Weather phenomena occurrences (fog, rain, hail, thunder, etc.)
Key Features
- One of the most comprehensive global weather station databases available
- Quality controlled through multiple validation methods
- Records maintained and updated continuously
- Includes both active and historical stations
- Data undergoes rigorous consistency checks and anomaly detection
- Official dataset used by climate researchers globally
Use in Parametric Insurance
GHCN data is valuable for:
- Location-specific parametric insurance
- Historical climate analysis for risk modeling
- Temperature-indexed insurance products
- Precipitation-based agricultural insurance
- Weather extremes insurance (heat, cold, frost)
- Verification of other data sources
- Calibration of satellite-based or modeled data products
Data Access
Data is freely available through the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) website and via various APIs.