Climate and weather data

Near real-time measured South African weather data is primarily available from the South African Weather Service (SAWS) and the Agricultural Resource Council (ARC), with each maintaining a set of automatic weather stations across the country.  These data need to be paid for, although special conditions exist, for example, if you are busy with postgraduate studies. 

The South African Atlas of Climatology and Agrohydrology (SAAACA) provides freely available daily weather data at the quaternary catchment scale for the period extending from 1950 up to 1999 (Schulze, 2007). These data are available on the WRO data portal. 

AgERA5 - global weather data set tailored for agriculture

CHIRPS - Rainfall Estimates from Rain Gauge and Satellite Observations

ERA5 atmospheric reanalysis (1940 to current, hortizontal resolution of 31 km))

Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP) - A three hourly 0.1 degree resolution available from 1979 to ~3 h from real-time

National Climate Change Information System

South African Atlas of Climatology and Agrohydrology (SAAACA)  (1950-1999) (now available from the WRO data platform) 

University of Cape Town Climate Information Portal

Southern Africa

Southern Africa Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) Data and Information Portal

National Climate Change Response Database (Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment)

Climate Change Prediction Data