GDDP-CMIP6 Daily Climate Projections in the Dataset API

meteoblue has added NASA GDDP-CMIP6 to the Dataset API, daily downscaled climate projections on a 0.25° grid under four emission scenarios.

GDDP-CMIP6 comes from NASA Earth Exchange. It is bias corrected and spatially downscaled from CMIP6 global climate models, which makes it a closer fit for regional and local work than raw model output. Historical simulations cover 1950 to 2014, and projections run from 2015 onward.

Variables and scenarios

Five variables are available: temperature, daily maximum temperature, daily minimum temperature, wind speed and total precipitation. Each is provided under the SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5 emission scenarios, as an ensemble average together with the 15th and 85th percentiles of the ensemble.

Why daily values matter

CCDS-CMIP6, the other CMIP6 ensemble in the Dataset API, is monthly. Daily values make it possible to count threshold exceedances, such as days above a temperature limit or heavy precipitation days, which monthly averages cannot show.

Coverage

The grid spans 60°S to 90°N, so Antarctica is not covered. As with any downscaled projection, the values describe a modelled climate under an assumed emission scenario rather than an observed record.