Research Guides: Climate Research: Websites & Data Sources

Websites

Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
Find information on policy, technology, science, and business as they relate to climate change and its impacts.
cli-MATE (Midwestern Regional Climate Center)
Online data and tool portal that lets you easily explore and analyze U.S. climate data, trends, maps, and growing season stats for any time or place. (Requires free account registration)
Climate Prediction Center (National Weather Service, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration)
Includes, short and long range interactive outlooks, U.S. Drought Information, 8-14 Day U.S. Hazards Outlook, and Global Tropics Hazards Outlook.
Climate Strategies
Advances climate policy through meaningful interactions between decision-makers and researchers across Europe and internationally.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.
IPCC Report on Climate Change and Land
An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems.
National Integrated Drought Information System (NDIS)
NIDIS is a multi-agency partnership that coordinates drought monitoring, forecasting, planning, and information at national, state, and local levels across the country.
RealClimate
A commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists.
Today in Energy (website)
Short articles from the U.S. Energy Information Administration with expert explanations.
U.S. Global Change Research Program
Read the federal government's reports aimed at collecting scientific information on climate change for decision-making in the near future.

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Thirteen departments and agencies participate in the USGCRP, which was known as the U.S. Climate Change Science Program from 2002 through 2008. The program is steered by the Subcommittee on Global Change Research under the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainability, overseen by the Executive Office of the President, and facilitated by a National Coordination Office.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Find conference documents, background information, the Kyoto Protocol, and national reports.
Weather Prediction Center
Includes Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts, Winter Weather Forecasts, Short Term Forecasts, Tropical Cyclone Forecasts, and more.
National Data Buoy Center (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce)
Operates ocean and coastal buoys and land stations to collect and disseminate vital, real-time meteorological and oceanographic data contributing to maritime safety, weather forecasting, and climate monitoring.
2025 Hurricane Preparedness Guide (National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
An excellent resource to learn about threats associated with tropical storms and hurricanes. It includes information on how to plan and prepare for such an emergency.

United States Global Change Research Program

The United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) works to "build a knowledge base that informs human responses to climate and global change through coordinated and integrated federal programs of research, education, communication, and decision support." Congress mandated the program as part of the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-606), and it now involves 13 federal agencies. The following are some of these agencies' websites on climate change.

Climate and Health Program (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Climate Change (U. S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Global Climate Challenges Incubator (U.S. National Science Foundation)
Addresses climate and global change issues through convergent and interdisciplinary research approaches.
Climate Change (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Climate (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Office of Global Change (U.S. Department of State)
Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet (NASA)

Data Sources

ARM Data (Atmospheric Radiation Measuement User Facility, U.S. Department of Energy)
Include routine data products, value-added products (VAPs), field campaign data, complementary external data products from collaborating programs, and data contributed by ARM principal investigators for use by the scientific community.
Climate Change Knowledge Portal (World Bank Group)
Provides a wealth of interactive data related to climate change. Find historical rainfall and temperature data and projections for the future.
Environment - Current Issues and Trends (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Official source for energy statistics, data, analysis and forecasting.
Climate Data Online (National Centers for Enfironmental Information, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration)
Provides free access to the National Climatic Data Center's archive of global historical weather and climate data in addition to station history information. These data include quality controlled daily, monthly, seasonal, and yearly measurements of temperature, precipitation, wind, and degree days as well as radar data and 30-year Climate Normals.
OneStop (NOAA)
A NOAA Data Search Platform. Geophysical, oceans, coastal, weather and climate data discovery all in one place.

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