Jul 12, 2026
Midwest Heatwave 2026: When the Night Stayed Hot
During a relentless summer heatwave, a major concern is a night that brings no cooling. Hourly observations reveal how high dew points coincided with unusually warm nights.
Understanding our climate through data
Explore nine interactive weather and climate data tools using official station observations from NOAA, DWD, JMA, Météo-France, IMGW, MeteoGate and WMO.
Move from local station detail to cross-country climate comparisons without switching platforms.
Choose an Explorer, follow a practical guide, or read evidence-led articles. Each dataset keeps its source-specific variables and documented limitations visible.
Explore weather and climate datasets
Compare global archives and national networks covering thousands of stations. The observations come from official meteorological providers and follow provider or WMO reporting conventions; available variables, time coverage and quality controls differ by source.
EuroMeteo – European Data
MeteoGate / EUMETNET
Near real-time cross-border observations for Europe, built on MeteoGate's WIS 2.0 / E-SOH feed. Best for tracking active weather as it moves between national networks.
DWD – German Climate Data
Deutscher Wetterdienst OpenData
Germany's richest open station archive, from 10-minute observations to annual summaries. Ideal for local extremes, solar studies, and long station histories.
Météo-France – French Data
French Meteorological Service
French station data with strong coverage for rainfall, wind, and rapid precipitation changes. Especially useful for Atlantic, Alpine, and Mediterranean weather regimes.
JMA – Japanese Data
Japan Meteorological Agency
High-frequency Japanese observations built for a country of typhoons, coastal winds, and steep terrain. Explore daily, hourly, and 10-minute records from the JMA network.
IMGW – Polish Data
Institute of Meteorology (IMGW-PIB)
Polish station observations spanning synoptic, climatological, and snow records. Useful for flood risk, winter conditions, and long-term regional comparisons.
WMO Normals – 1991-2020
Climatological Standard Normals
Official 30-year climate benchmarks (1991-2020) for thousands of global stations. Essential for assessing current anomalies against a modern baseline.
WMO Climate – Observations
Global Monthly CLIMAT reports
Near real-time and historical global monthly observations compiled from the WMO CLIMAT network. Essential for monitoring active climate anomalies and trends.
GHCNh – Hourly Observations
Worldwide Meteorological Data
Global hourly station data for every country, suited to extremes, diurnal cycles, and sub-daily event analysis across more than 11,000 sites.
GHCNm – Monthly Summaries
Long-term Climate Records
Homogenized monthly station summaries for long-run climate work. Best for century-scale warming signals, precipitation shifts, and regional trend comparisons.
Why We Built Climate Explorer
We built Climate Explorer to solve a practical problem: accessing high-resolution, station-level weather data is still far too difficult. While the warming climate is a global issue, the actual impacts hit locally. To track how heatwaves are intensifying in Germany or how rainfall patterns are shifting in France, you can't just rely on global averages. You need the raw data from the stations on the ground.
The issue is that National Meteorological Services usually publish their open data on separate platforms, using completely different formats and APIs. We decided to fix this by creating a unified portal. Instead of writing custom Python scripts to parse DWD datasets or figuring out the Météo-France API limits, researchers and journalists can use our interactive interfaces to get straight to the analysis.
Data Sources and Technical Approach
Our tools use official public data infrastructure. For European weather, EuroMeteo connects to WIS 2.0 (WMO Information System) and the EUMETNET E-SOH network to display observations distributed by participating national weather services in near real-time. For historical analysis, the GHCN Explorers use NOAA's Global Historical Climatology Network, including hourly and monthly station records.
We preserve the source observations while handling the technical work needed to retrieve and present them, including parsing provider formats, timestamps and quality fields. Derived summaries and comparisons are identified in the relevant Explorer or guide, and provider-specific limitations remain important when interpreting results.
Putting Weather in Context
When a heatwave hits, the first question is usually, "How abnormal is this?" To answer that, you need a baseline. That's why we heavily integrate the WMO Climatological Standard Normals (1991-2020) into our tools. It allows users to instantly compare today's temperature or rainfall against the expected 30-year average for that exact location.
Whether you're a data journalist writing about consecutive summer extremes, a student mapping urban heat islands, or just a weather enthusiast, Climate Explorer gives you the raw facts. Good climate analysis requires good data, and our goal is to make sure that data is accessible to anyone who needs it.
Latest Insights & Articles
Read in-depth case studies about using open meteorological datasets, understanding climate anomalies, and the policy changes driving global climate research.
Jul 11, 2026
Little Relief: Successive Heatwaves Deepen France’s July Fire-Weather Crisis
Station observations show how repeated June–July heat left France with little recovery as fire danger spread and western temperatures topped 42°C.
Jul 9, 2026
The Invisible Dome: How the Urban Heat Island Amplified Paris' June Extremes
An analysis of the nocturnal temperature disparity between Paris-Montsouris and rural Melun-Villaroche during the severe June 2026 heatwave.
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What You Can Do
Track Historical Trends
Explore long-term changes in precipitation and temperature to identify regional and global climate patterns.
Analyze Current Conditions
Access up-to-date measurements to monitor current weather events and their potential impacts.
Investigate Climate Variability
Delve into the fluctuations and extremes of precipitation and temperature to better understand climate risks.
By providing easy access to essential climate data, we contribute to a greater understanding of our planet's climate system and support informed decision-making for a more sustainable future.