Heat-Stress days per year - (ECMWF)

Parameter

Heat-Stress days per year (ECMWF Max daily temp > 32° C)





Description

Number of heat-stress days (temp > 32° C) per year for the timeframe 2000 - 2020.

This threshold is set as suggested by literature, i.e. in general terms temperatures above 32° C might affect plant growth. Based on the FAO Climate Smart Agriculture Sourcebook, extremely high temperatures above 30°C can do permanent physical damage to plants and, when they exceed 37°C, can even damage seeds during storage. The type of damage depends on the temperature, its persistence, and the rapidity of its increase or plants’ capacity to adjust. It also depends on the species and the stage of plant development. As the climate changes, the frequency of periods when temperatures rise above critical thresholds for maize, rice and wheat is predicted to increase worldwide.

The data comes from ECMWF ERA5 Land hourly reanalysis dataset that is reduced to daily maximums.

European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)

Source data

European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)

ERA5-Land is a reanalysis dataset providing a consistent view of the evolution of land variables over several decades at an enhanced resolution compared to ERA5.

Description

ERA5-Land has been produced by replaying the land component of the ECMWF ERA5 climate reanalysis. Reanalysis combines model data with observations from across the world into a globally complete and consistent dataset using the laws of physics. Reanalysis produces data that goes several decades back in time, providing an accurate description of the climate of the past.

Spatial resolution

The pixel size is 0.1 deg (approx. 11 km at the equator)

Pixel size: 11 x 11 km (0.1 deg)


Temporal resolution

ERA5-Land data is available from 1981 to three months from real-time.

Monthly aggregates have been calculated based on the ERA5-Land hourly values of each parameter.