Updates and messages

Find out what has been happening with the UKCP User Interface below. For information about the wider UK Climate Projections set of products, go to the UKCP web pages. From time to time, the UKCP User Interface will be down due to updates to the infrastructure. Details of anticipated downtime will be provided below. Planned software updates are detailed on therelease schedule page. For unanticipated issues a site wide message will be displayed.

News icon UKCP Users' Consultation Survey (Published on 27/01/2023 13:43:38)
Would you like to help to inform the future of UK climate information? The Met Office and Defra are launching a consultation of our UK Climate Projections (UKCP) service to gather user perspectives. This is an opportunity for you to share your experiences of using climate information, and to engage in deeper dialogue with climate experts at the Met Office and in the wider academic and private sector community. We are doing this now to take account of user experiences with climate change impacts and recent policy decisions and regulations. This two-way dialogue is also timely because the users and their climate information needs are evolving, and addressing these issues requires your input. We are encouraging users of climate information to complete a short survey, to find out how you are using climate information, including UKCP, what are barriers to information use, and how we could make future improvements to the service. All responses will be treated confidentially and comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guidelines. Our survey will be open until Friday 17 February 2023, and it should take no longer than 20 minutes to do. If you would like to take part in our consultation, please click on the link to access the survey: https://forms.office.com/e/ywUsUTtCXb.

News icon MAINTENANCE: UKCP User Interface Downtime (Published on 16/11/2022 09:51:02)
Please be aware that the UKCP User Interface will be unavailable between 17:00 GMT on Monday 21st November 2022 and 09:30 GMT on Tuesday 22nd November. This is to allow for changes in the hosting server within the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) were the data resides.

News icon 4th Augsut 2022: Probabilistic Projections Update (Published on 05/08/2022 14:50:18)
The Probabilistic Projections were updated on 4th August 2022, to make improvements to the methodology to improve: consistency between maximum, minimum and mean temperature; consistency in the downscaling; statistical treatment of precipitation particularly at the wet and dry extremes; representation of annual and decadal variability; and adjustment of the data in the 1981-2000 baseline period to ensure the anomalies average to zero. The combination of the improvements means that all variables are modified to some degree. Note that the improvements do not affect any other UKCP product, i.e. the UKCP Probabilistic Projections of Climate Extremes, UKCP Local, UKCP Regional, UKCP Global and the Derived Projections. For more information, please refer to the UKCP news article and the documents it links to: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/collaboration/ukcp/about/project-news

News icon MAINTENANCE User Interface Outages 18-22 June 2022 (Published on 14/06/2022 15:49:19)
Please note that the UKCP User Interface will be unavailable on 18th and 19th June, and should be considered at risk for 20th, 21st and 22nd June 2022. This is related to maintenance of the RAL (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory) network causing no access to CEDA (Centre for Environmental Data Analysis), which hosts the UKCP User Interface. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause our users, and we encourage you to plan to avoid using the User Interface during 18-22 June. Please be aware, this will similarly affect the CEDA archive during the same period.

News icon Observations now available on User Interface (Published on 12/04/2022 13:51:53)
The Met Office publishes the State of the UK Climate report annually each year, providing climate stories and an up-to-date assessment of UK climate for the previous year [https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/about/state-of-climate]. Underpinning the report is the HadUK-Grid dataset which is a collection of gridded climate variables derived from a network of UK land surface observations [https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/data/haduk-grid/haduk-grid] As part of the Defra-funded UKCP Climate Service, we have made these available on the UKCP User Interface at the original 1 km resolution as well as spatial resolutions to support the UK Climate Projections (i.e. 5 km, 12 km, 25 km, 60 km, national, administrative and river basin regions). All variables are available to download as data (in csv or netCDF format), with map or timeseries plots available for temperature or rainfall. Note that the data are also available from the CEDA Archive for those who are familiar with processing large climate datasets. This will allow users to get the most up-to-date information about recent climate. Using this observational data from the past will facilitate better understanding of the current climate hazard, before considering how this is projected to evolve in our changing climate.

News icon UKCP Probabilistic Projections Global (60 km) Update (Published on 13/10/2021 11:29:38)
We previously announced that we found some inconsistencies between the maximum, minimum and mean daily temperature data in the Probabilistic Projections. As part of the continual review and improvement of UKCP data products and services, we are currently updating the UKCP Probabilistic Projections to correct this issue. This update will also include improvements to the statistical treatment of precipitation and decadal variability. For precipitation, the update will lead to improved dry-end extremes. We plan to release the updated data this winter alongside a technical note and guidance. For more details see the UKCP news page: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/collaboration/ukcp/ukcp18-project-news/index

News icon UKCP Local (2.2km) Update (Published on 22/07/2021 09:46:43)
The UKCP Local (2.2km) data have been updated, following a correction to the computer code identified in September 2020. Top-level climate change messages from UKCP are unchanged because no other UKCP product is affected. We recommend using the new data for all new applications. Further details are on the UKCP Website: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/collaboration/ukcp/ukcp18-project-news/index. For users of the original data, whether an update is required will depend on the variable and application. Snow, winter temperatures and hourly precipitation extremes are primarily affected; where these variables have been studied using the Local (2.2km) data, the analysis should be repeated using this new data. Winter mean precipitation and heavy daily precipitation events are affected in present-day climate, but the future changes are not significantly different in the new Local (2.2km) data. There should be little effect on summer temperature, summer mean precipitation and cloud cover. More detail can be found in the UKCP Local Update Report and FAQ, available from the Guidance and Science Reports page on the Met Office website here: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/collaboration/ukcp/guidance-science-reports. The data for hourly temperature, hourly wind speed (note that original data were three-hourly), and daily lightning data are being processed onto the 5km OSGB grid, which we anticipate will be available in early autumn 2021.

News icon UKCP Enhancements - October 2020 (Published on 22/10/2020 09:57:49)
A set of enhancements to the available UKCP products are now available; these include an assessment of extremes within the Probabilistic Projections, a low emissions scenario update for UKCP Global (60 km), an assessment of the internal variability within the UKCP Projections, three European circulation indices and data on soil moisture and water balance. Further information can be found on the UKCP Website here: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/collaboration/ukcp/ukcp18-project-news/index

News icon UKCP Updates Part 1 - UKCP Local 2.2km correction (Published on 24/09/2020 10:49:38)
Users of the UKCP Local 2.2km climate model should be aware of an error within the computer code, affecting how much solid precipitation falls as snow and how much falls as small ice pellets. No other UKCP product is affected by the error and top-level UK climate change messages from UKCP are unchanged. Much of the existing 2.2km data can still be used for many applications, but users are urged not to use data containing projections of snow and winter temperatures over Scotland. The following variables are also affected, but to a lesser extent, and for these caution is needed in the use of the existing data: winter precipitation; UK hourly precipitation extremes; and wind extremes over the ocean and north-west coastal regions. Summer temperature, including extremes and summer mean precipitation remain unaffected. The UKCP team are planning to issue revised data in Spring 2021. A report for technical users providing more detail on this issue and guidance to help users understand how to best continue in their use of the model results is available, along with an FAQ document. These can be found on the Guidance and Science Reports page on the Met Office website here: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/collaboration/ukcp/guidance-science-reports

News icon UKCP Updates Part 2 - Probabilistic Projections (Published on 24/09/2020 10:48:16)
Probabilistic Projections investigation In response to feedback from a user, the UKCP team have checked projections of daily minimum and maximum surface air temperature (Tmin and Tmax) from the probabilistic projections’ component of the land scenarios (UKCP_Probabilistic). In climate model output, changes in daily mean temperature (Tmean) are usually within 0.5 degrees of the average of changes in Tmax and Tmin. However, in the UKCP_Probabilistic data larger differences were found in some of the 3000 realisations, leading to inconsistencies between the Tmax, Tmin and Tmean results. We will report back on a time-scale of approximately one month, with updated data and guidance. Any users of the current Tmax and Tmin results from UKCP Probabilistic who need a faster response are advised to contact the UKCP team for further advice. Other variables in UKCP Probabilistic, including daily-average temperature, are not affected by this issue.

News icon UKCP Updates Part 3 - UKCP enhanced capability (Published on 24/09/2020 10:47:05)
During October 2020, a suite of new tools delivering advanced functionality will become available. The new features include: • Probabilistic estimates for a range of extreme metrics at return periods of 20, 50 and 100 years for quantities such as daily maximum temperature, and daily precipitation. • Storm and weather-related metrics – including NAO indices, storm track position and intensity, and weather types. • Guidance on water budgets and guidance on global model drifts. 

News icon User interface upgrade (Published on 21/07/2020 08:40:47)
The UKCP18 User Interface has had a major upgrade. This includes the updating of a number of the underlying software packages: Iris, the analysis software; Matplotlib, the mapping and plotting software; NumPy numerical package; migration from the Pylons web frame work to the Pyramids web framework; upgrade from Python 2 to Python 3. In general users should not see any major differences. In testing it has been seen that NumPy is rounding some of the floats.

News icon Update of UKCP Regional (12km) (Published on 03/10/2019 08:03:54)

We have updated some of the gridded products from the UKCP Regional (12km) data today and can now be accessed through the UKCP User Interface.

The update includes:

  • The 12km dataset over the UK in the Ordnance Survey's British National Coordinates for a small number of coastal grid cells for Northern Ireland and Ireland.
  • The 12km dataset over the UK and Europe for maximum and minimum temperature as well as mean sea level.

You should not have been affected if you:

  • use the regional averages (i.e. country level, river basin level and administrative level).
  • access anomalies data through the User Interface

This will mainly affect those who have accessed the data through the CEDA data archive and who have analysed the whole of the UK or Europe.

Note:

  • The update does not change any of the headline findings or existing material.
  • The changes are due to a small number of grid cells being mistakenly identified as a sea cell rather than land cell. Also, incorrect units for maximum and minimum temperature and mean sea level pressure.


News icon Release of UKCP Local (2.2km) (Published on 16/09/2019 11:55:06)
On 16 September 2019, Defra, BEIS, Met Office and the Environment Agency mark the release of the UKCP Local (2.2km) climate projections. The new climate projections complement the UKCP suite of products launched last year. You can find further details about the new set of data on the UKCP website (https://ukclimateprojections.metoffice.gov.uk) and download the data from the UKCP user interface and CEDA Data Archive.

News icon Update of UKCP Regional (12km) (Published on 01/10/2019 )

We have updated some of the gridded products from the UKCP Regional (12km) data today and can now be accessed through the UKCP User Interface.

The update includes:

  • The 12km dataset over the UK in the Ordnance Survey's British National Coordinates for a small number of coastal grid cells for Northern Ireland and Ireland.
  • The 12km dataset over the UK and Europe for maximum and minimum temperature as well as mean sea level.

You should not have been affected if you:

  • use the regional averages (i.e. country level, river basin level and administrative level).
  • access anomalies data through the User Interface

This will mainly affect those who have accessed the data through the CEDA data archive and who have analysed the whole of the UK or Europe.

Note:

  • The update does not change any of the headline findings or existing material.
  • The changes are due to a small number of grid cells being mistakenly identified as a sea cell rather than land cell. Also, incorrect units for maximum and minimum temperature and mean sea level pressure.
News icon Release of UKCP Local (2.2km) (Published on 16/09/2019 )

On 16 September 2019, Defra, BEIS, Met Office and the Environment Agency mark the release of the UKCP Local (2.2km) climate projections. The new climate projections complement the UKCP suite of products launched last year. You can find further details about the new set of data on the UKCP website and download the data from the UKCP user interface and CEDA Data Archive.

News icon Launch of the updated UK Climate Projections User Interface (Published on 27/11/2018)

On 26 November 2018, the UK Climate Projections User Interface went live. Browse this website or head to the UKCP website to find out more about the UKCP18 project.

The UK Climate Projections User Interface (UKCP UI) will be further developed as we add functionality, datasets and improve the usability of the interface based on user feedback. Visit this page regularly for information on the plans for improving the UI. Current plans in the short term are to:

  • Include regional averages for probabilistic projections
  • Include plume plots for projections over land
  • Allow direct download of the data through the user interface (rather than just maps and graphs products)
  • Include files used as input into the climate models, i.e. land elevation, land area mask
  • Include derived projections on Ordnance Survey's National Grid (currently only available through CEDA Data Catalogue)

The updated observations dataset for use alongside the UKCP18 climate model projections will be available on Wednesday 5 December 2018. In the meantime, you can find further information via: