Best Public Datasets for Climate Research (2025)

Open Data for Climate Research

Climate research requires vast amounts of quality data. Here are the best publicly available sources, all indexed on DataSetIQ with quality scores.

Temperature & Weather

NOAA Global Temperature Anomalies

IQ Score: 96 | Monthly | 1880-present

Global and regional temperature anomaly data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.

NASA GISS Surface Temperature

IQ Score: 95 | Monthly | 1880-present

NASA Goddard Institute's global surface temperature analysis.

ERA5 Reanalysis (ECMWF)

IQ Score: 94 | Hourly | 1940-present

Comprehensive atmospheric reanalysis at 31km resolution.

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions

EDGAR Emissions Database

IQ Score: 93 | Annual | 1970-present

Country-level emissions by gas and sector from the EU JRC.

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory

IQ Score: 97 | Continuous

Direct atmospheric CO2 measurements from Mauna Loa and global network.

IEA CO2 Emissions

IQ Score: 92 | Annual | 1990-present

Energy-related emissions by country and fuel type.

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Sea Level & Oceans

NASA Sea Level Data

IQ Score: 96 | Monthly | 1993-present

Global mean sea level from satellite altimetry.

NOAA Tide Gauge Data

IQ Score: 94 | Continuous

Long-term sea level measurements from coastal stations.

ARGO Float Data

IQ Score: 93 | Continuous

Ocean temperature and salinity profiles worldwide.

Energy & Transition

EIA Energy Data

IQ Score: 97 | Monthly | 1949-present

US energy production, consumption, and prices by source.

IRENA Renewable Statistics

IQ Score: 91 | Annual

Global renewable energy capacity and generation.

BP Statistical Review

IQ Score: 90 | Annual | 1965-present

Comprehensive global energy data.

Extreme Events

EM-DAT International Disaster Database

IQ Score: 88 | Event-based | 1900-present

Natural and technological disasters worldwide.

NOAA Storm Events

IQ Score: 93 | Event-based

US severe weather events and impacts.

Policy & Economics

World Bank Climate Data

IQ Score: 92 | Annual

Climate-related development indicators.

IMF Climate Change Indicators

IQ Score: 91 | Varies

Macroeconomic impacts of climate change.

Carbon Pricing Dashboard (World Bank)

IQ Score: 89 | Updated regularly

Carbon tax and ETS coverage by jurisdiction.

Research Use Cases

For Academic Papers

• GISS or NOAA for temperature trends

• EDGAR for emissions inventories

• EM-DAT for event analysis

• ERA5 for high-resolution modeling

For Policy Analysis

• IEA/EIA for energy transitions

• World Bank for development links

• Carbon pricing data for policy comparison

• IRENA for renewables tracking

For Corporate Sustainability

• GHG Protocol compatible sources

• Energy efficiency benchmarks

• Climate risk indicators

• Scope 3 data sources

Getting Started

All datasets listed are indexed on DataSetIQ with quality scores and direct links to sources.

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