Library of climate resources

This is a collection of links to climate datasets, tools, guidance and related resources. The sources include the federal government, provincial and territorial governments, national professional organizations, climate consortia and established international organizations. It can be useful for impact, vulnerability and risk assessments, and for adaptation planning.

Refine your search using the search filters. You can also type up to 5 keywords in the search bar.

Explanation of the different resource types
  • data product - downloadable climate dataset
  • tool - builds on a dataset with further analyses and/or visualization
  • guidance - provides direction on the use of climate information or on conducting climate-related assessments
  • codes and standards - guidance and best practice documents for climate resilient design
  • additional resources include educational and awareness-raising material, impact assessments and scientific syntheses

Showing 1 - 10 of 15 results
  • An inventory of historical climate data and climate projections for the Canadian North (Opens in a new Window)

    This collaborative report presents the work done by the Northern Climate Data Working Group Phase I, which was created in December 2020 by the Canadian Centre for Climate Services with researchers and scientists from a wide range of universities and organizations. The report constitutes a large inventory of datasets that can be useful for future development of climate products to support climate-change adaptation decision-making in the Canadian North. Datasets for meteorological, snow, hydrology, sea ice, and permafrost variables were analyzed for the historical period and for future projections. The main information is presented in the form of tables with links to websites and descriptive documents, many of which are attached as annexes. The Phase II of the Working Group has transformed the inventory presented in this report into an online searchable database (https://nordata.physics.utoronto.ca/en/) A PDF copy of this report is available upon request. Please contact Emilia.Diaconescu@ec.gc.ca if interested.
    Organization:
    Government of Canada: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Carleton University, CSA Group, Government of Northwest Territories, Ouranos, University of Calgary, University of Manitoba, University of Northern British Columbia, University of Toronto, University of Victoria, Yukon University Research Centre
    Resource formats:
    • Data files
    • Interactive
    • Scientific synthesis
    • Tool

    Atlas agroclimatique du Québec (in French only) (Opens in a new Window)

    The AgroClimate Atlas of Quebec contains historical observations and future modelled climate indicators for various regions of Quebec. Moderate and high emissions scenarios are available and indicators are presented in mapped and graphical form. Indicators are reported as seasonal averages over the horizon periods, and include: frost dates, extreme temperatures, growing season, degree-days, corn heat units, hardening, dehardening, precipitation, water budget, and IDF graphs.
    Organization:
    Quebec Reference Center for Agriculture and Agri-food (CRAAQ)
    Resource formats:
    • Data files
    • Graphical
    • Mapped

    Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (Opens in a new Window)

    Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN) provides information on measuring, modeling, and understanding the relationships between the cryosphere and the Earth's climate system. It contains data visualizations of current and historical snow water equivalent, sea ice thickness, and current and historical lake ice cover. Historical and future data are available as point and gridded data.
    Organization:
    Canadian Cryosphere Information Network, University of Waterloo
    Resource formats:
    • Data files
    • Interactive
    • Impact assessment
    • Scientific synthesis
    • Graphical
    • Mapped
    • Tool

    CC-Bio: Maps and Data (Opens in a new Window)

    CC-Bio is a project to predict potential effects of climate change on the distribution and abundance of a large range of plant and animal species from Quebec. CC-Bio supports regional strategies of adaptation to climate change in the field of biodiversity conservation. Advanced statistical techniques are used to develop quantitative models representing the complex relationships between species distributions and environmental variables, including climate. The website modeling results for 681 species of amphibians, birds, and plants for which potential effects of climate change have been analyzed are available for view. Results for 84 tree species have not yet been made public (for these species, contact rine.perie_at_mrnf.gouv.qc.ca).
    Organization:
    Université du Québec à Rimouski, Ouranos
    Resource formats:
    • Interactive
    • Mapped
    • Tool

    Climate Atlas of Canada (Opens in a new Window)

    The Climate Atlas of Canada is an interactive tool developed for users to learn about climate change in Canada. It combines climate science, mapping and storytelling. The primary source of climate model data presented in maps, charts and tables is the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium. Statistically downscaled data was derived from 12 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global climate models for two emissions scenarios: Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5. For comparative purposes, observed data are included in all time-series graphs for the period 1950-2005. The source of the observed data used in the Atlas is Natural Resources Canada.
    Organization:
    Prairie Climate Centre
    Resource formats:
    • Data files
    • Interactive
    • Graphical
    • Mapped
    • Tool
    • Educational and awareness-raising material

    ClimateNA_Map (Opens in a new Window)

    ClimateNA extracts and downscales PRISM 1971-2000 monthly climate normal data and monthly solar radiation normal data (4km x 4km) to scale-free point locations in North America, and calculates seasonal and annual climate variables for specific locations based on latitude, longitude and elevation (optional). Climate projections are available for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5 under climate models for the 2025, 2055, and 2085 time periods. Data are spatially projected onto a map, and could be appended onto a CSV file for download.
    Organization:
    University of British Columbia
    Resource formats:
    • Data files
    • Interactive
    • Mapped
    • Tool

    Current and projected climate data for North America (CMIP6 scenarios) (Opens in a new Window)

    AdaptWest provides modelled climate projections generated using the ClimateNA software, downscaled from the Coupled Climate Model Comparison Phase 6 (CMIP6) database. Variables include mean and extreme estimates of temperature and precipitation, growing and cooling degree days, snowfall, evapotranspiration, and drought indices. Data are available from individual models or a 15-model ensemble at a 1km resolution for North America as well as individual states and provinces to a horizon year of 2050, available for download in grid or tabular formats.
    Organization:
    Conservation Biology Institute
    Resource formats:
    • Data files
    • Mapped

    Design Value Explorer (Opens in a new Window)

    PCIC’s Design Value Explorer (DVE) enables users to access historical climatic design variables across Canada, in either map or table form, examine projected future change in design variables, and download maps and tables. Climatic design values are used by engineers to determine some elements of the environment that buildings and other infrastructure may be exposed to. This information was produced by PCIC, in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada and the National Research Council, to support updates to the National Building Code of Canada (2015, Table C-2) and the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CHBDC/ CSA S6 2014, Annex A3.1).
    Organization:
    Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium
    Resource formats:
    • Data files
    • Interactive
    • Mapped
    • Tool
    • Vulnerability or risk assessment
    • Adaptation planning

    Engineering Climate Data Sets (Opens in a new Window)

    Engineering Climate Datasets contain: Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) Files, the Canadian Weather Energy and Engineering Datasets (CWEEDS) and the Canadian Weather Year for Energy Calculation (CWEC) dataset. The IDF dataset contains short duration rainfall Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) statistics. Data are presented as tables and graphs for various locations across Canada. CWEEDS provides hourly and long-term weather conditions at monitoring stations across Canada with at least 10 years of records between 1998 and 2014. CWEC datasets contain 12 calculated "Typical Meteorological Months" selected from a 30 years of records, including daily global radiation, dry-bulb temperature, dew-point temperature and wind speed.
    Organization:
    Government of Canada: Environment and Climate Change Canada
    Resource formats:
    • Data files
    • Graphical

    Forest Change Adaptation Tools (Opens in a new Window)

    Forest Change adaptation tools provides information about the impacts of climate change on Canada’s forests and on how to adapt to changing climate conditions. Adaptation tools and resources for forest managers are available here. The tools and resources provided include maps, databases, web applications and synthesis reports. They are grouped under three broad systems: climate, forest and human.
    Organization:
    Government of Canada: Natural Resources Canada
    Resource formats:
    • Data files
    • Interactive
    • Graphical
    • Mapped
    • Tool


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More resources from the Canadian Centre for Climate Services

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