The global historical climate database hclim

ABSTRACT There is a growing need for past weather and climate data to support science and decision-making. This paper describes the compilation and construction of a global multivariable

(air temperature, pressure, precipitation sum, number of precipitation days) monthly instrumental climate database that encompasses a substantial body of the known early instrumental time

series. The dataset contains series compiled from existing databases that start before 1890 (though continuing to the present) as well as a large amount of newly rescued data. All series

underwent a quality control procedure and subdaily series were processed to monthly mean values. An inventory was compiled, and the collection was deduplicated based on coordinates and

mutual correlations. The data are provided in a common format accompanied by the inventory. The collection totals 12452 meteorological records in 118 countries. The data can be used for

climate reconstructions and analyses. It is the most comprehensive global monthly climate dataset for the preindustrial period so far. Measurement(s) temperature of air Technology Type(s)

weather stations Sample Characteristic - Environment Air - temperature, precipitation and pressre Sample Characteristic - Location Global Dataset SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE CHIRTS-DAILY QUASI-GLOBAL HIGH-RESOLUTION DAILY TEMPERATURE DATA SET Article Open access 14 September 2020 CLIMATEEU, SCALE-FREE CLIMATE NORMALS, HISTORICAL

TIME SERIES, AND FUTURE PROJECTIONS FOR EUROPE Article Open access 04 December 2020 A DYNAMICALLY CONSISTENT ENSEMBLE OF TEMPERATURE AT THE EARTH SURFACE SINCE 1850 FROM THE DCENT DATASET

Article Open access 30 August 2024 BACKGROUND & SUMMARY Long-term instrumental meteorological series are crucial for the understanding of interannual-to-decadal variations in climate.

Analyzed together with model simulations and climate proxies they may provide new insight into underlying climate mechanisms, such as long-lasting droughts1, changes in atmospheric

circulation2, or effects of volcanic eruptions3, and may serve as a basis for the generation of more comprehensive data products in reconstruction4 or data assimilation approaches5,6.

Long-term instrumental meteorological series also serve as a reference against which human induced climate change can be compared7. For instance, Hawkins et al.8 suggested using the period

1720–1800 as a preindustrial reference, but only few records from this period are currently available. We define a record as a meteorological time series with one variable at one location.

While several global9,10, regional11,12,13, or national (e.g., Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), etc.) climate datasets exist that reach

back to the 17th century, each of them has unique records and there is no comprehensive dataset across different variables. Furthermore, coverage of the early instrumental period is not as

good as it could be. Brönnimann _et al_.14 compiled a global inventory of early instrumental meteorological measurements, showing that a large fraction of the series either have not been

digitized at all or have not been integrated into global datasets. Here we follow-up on such work and present a comprehensive database of monthly early instrumental climate data. By

integrating digitally available datasets that have not so far been included in other databases and by rescuing a substantial fraction of previously non-digitalized material such as

handwritten temperature logs, our database encompasses a much larger volume of early instrumental data than that from previous efforts. Although the database extends to the present, the

focus is on the early instrumental periods and therefore all compiled series start before 1890, which is an appropriate year to distinguish early instrumental meteorological observations

from more recent meteorological measurements in a global context14. In total, our database (hereafter HCLIM) comprises 12452 monthly time series of meteorological variables such as

temperature (mean, maximum and minimum), air pressure, precipitation and number of wet days compiled from over 28 different source datasets complemented with 1525 newly digitized records.

All data were reformatted to a common format (SEF, described in the Format section under Data Records). Monthly means were formed from daily or subdaily data. All series then underwent a

quality control (QC), followed by removing duplicates. The data are presented as monthly files in the database15. The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 describes the method:

compilation, data rescue, and processing; Section 3 summarizes the HCLIM database; Section 4 presents a technical validation and Section 5 provides the usage notes. METHODS The processing

chain is illustrated in Fig. 1. It starts with compiling data from existing databases, and rescued data. Subdaily data is processed to monthly means and then a quality control procedure (QC)

is performed. Finally, the data are checked for duplicates and the detection of inhomogeneities. COMPILATION OF EXISTING DATA Data were compiled from 28 available databases listed in Tables

 2, 3 and 4 and in addition 16 other small data sources (Supplementary Table 1). The datasets comprise databanks with a global scope providing 27905 records to our compilation. Regional

(1800), national (538) and other (61) databanks provided further records. The numbers refer to those data series compiled, i.e., only data series reaching back before 1890 that are at least

one year in length. In a later process (Sect. Removing duplicates), about two thirds of the records were identified as duplicates and removed. Abbreviations given in the tables (Tables 2, 3

and 4) onwards are explained here in Table 1. GLOBAL CLIMATE DATABASES We used six global climate databases (Table 2). They are compiled by UK and US institutions. Some of them are global

temperature datasets (e.g., ISTI), whilst others have sea level pressure (e.g., ISPD) or all meteorological parameters (e.g., GHCN). Some measurements are over 300 years in age. Overview of

the geographical distribution of the records can be found in Supplementary Fig. 1. REGIONAL AND THEMATIC DATABASES Regional and thematic databases have a narrower spatial focus (Table 3).

For example, there are several sources related to the ACRE project (The international Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth)16. In addition, Supplementary Table 1 shows an

overview of other smaller datasets or individual stations that were incorporated into HCLIM. Overview of the geographical distribution of these records can be found in Supplementary Fig. 3.

NATIONAL WEATHER INSTITUTES Most countries have their own National Weather Service. These provide weather forecasts for civilian and military purposes and conduct research in meteorology,

oceanography, and climatology. Many have developed good climate databases, from which data can be extracted. Table 4 lists those that we integrated into our compilation. DATA RESCUED In

addition to the data collected from various sources, we transcribed and digitized a large number of early instrumental records that were hitherto not available in digital form. Figure 2

provides maps of all the rescued records that have been digitized, categorized by sources (Fig. 2a), and start year (Fig. 2b). Figure 2c shows the time evolution of the number of digitized

records and Fig. 2d shows the histogram of the length of the records that have been digitized. The bulk of the rescued data comes from early data collections published by prominent

meteorologists such as Heinrich Wilhelm Dove17 (1803–1879) or from early networks of weather stations such as those organized in the 18th century by the Royal Society in London, Société

Royale de Médecine18 (Royal Society of Medicine) in Paris and the Societas Meteorologica Palatina19 (Palatine Meteorological Society) in Mannheim. The main data sources are listed in Table 

5. The reason for the peaks in the number of digitized records around 1780 and 1850 can be found in Table 5. The first peak is due to the many records belonging to the networks of the Royal

Society of Medicine and the Palatine Meteorological Society); the second peak arises from the Dove17 and Weselowskij collections. The first peak is a bit misleading because it does not

represent a large increase in spatial coverage, being most of the stations located in France and Germany. The vast majority of rescued data are short records (<20 years, see Fig. 2b) that

were overlooked in previous digitization efforts. The inventory compiled by Brönnimann _et al_.14 guided us to the selection of relevant records, which needed to be easily accessible (i.e.,

hard copy archived in Switzerland) or already available as digital images. We digitized data from 1,235 stations corresponding to 13,822 station years for different variables at various

temporal resolutions, with some duplication. The actual typing was carried out by geography students at the University of Bern. The conversion of outside temperature and pressure to modern

units followed the general procedures described in Brugnara _et al_.20,21. A few cases required additional efforts: for example, for the temperature record of Cambridge, Massachusetts

(1742–1779), measured with a so-called “Hauksbee thermometer” (made for the Royal Society by Francis Hauksbee, the Younger; see22), we used the parallel observations with a Fahrenheit

thermometer provided by the observer to build a conversion function to degrees Celsius. However, in general we discarded a large fraction of temperature records measured before ca. 1770

because of the large uncertainties in temperature scales and the lack of metadata on thermometers (these data can be obtained upon request in their original units). We reduced pressure

observations to normal gravity and, whenever possible, to 0 °C. Pressure records that were not corrected for temperature are marked by a specific metadata entry. Some of the rescued data

were already available as monthly means in existing global datasets but have been retranscribed and digitized nonetheless, to ensure a better data quality and traceability, as well as to

improve daily and subdaily data availability in future projects. Some of the oldest records are calculated according to the Julian calendar or are averages of monthly extremes. These

instances are flagged accordingly in the metadata. Following best practices in data rescue (e.g.23), we digitized many additional variables that were observed alongside temperature and

pressure. In particular: precipitation amount, precipitation type, monthly number of wet days, wind direction, wet bulb temperature, relative humidity, evaporation, snow depth, cloud cover,

as well as qualitative weather descriptions. We digitized records for the number of wet days (i.e., days in which any precipitation was observed) from as early as 1586. Even though these are

not strictly instrumental records, we considered them a valuable addition to the database. The newly digitized raw data24 – including over 2.2 million point observations, over 120,000 daily

and over 180,000 monthly statistics – have been submitted to the Global Land and Marine Observations Dataset (GLAMOD25,26) and will be freely available on the Copernicus Climate Change

Service data store27. An inventory is provided in the Supplementary Information of this paper. FROM SUBDAILY DATA TO MONTHLY AVERAGES The calculation of monthly averages from subdaily

observations followed two steps: 1) calculation of daily averages and 2) calculation of monthly averages from the daily averages. To calculate daily averages, we took into account the time

of observations and the effect of the diurnal cycle on averages. This is particularly important when only one observation per day is available, or when observation times are variable

throughout the record. We obtained the diurnal cycle from the nearest grid point in the ERA5-Land reanalysis, which provides hourly values of temperature and pressure since 1981 with a

spatial resolution of ca. 9 km28. We calculated a different diurnal cycle for each calendar month from the reference period 1981–2010. To correct the raw daily means calculated from

available observations, we subtracted the average of the corresponding values in the diurnal cycle, after shifting its mean to zero. For example, a daily mean obtained from a single

observation in the early morning – near the time of minimum temperature – will be increased by this correction. When the observation times are not known exactly, and for stations on very

small islands not resolved in ERA5-Land, the correction is not applied. A metadata entry in the monthly data files informs the user on whether the diurnal cycle correction was applied or

not. For precipitation amounts, the calculation of daily values is simply the sum of all observations within a 24-hour period. Monthly averages and sums (for precipitation) are calculated

from daily values following the criteria recommended by the World Meteorological Organization29. The monthly average is set to missing if: (1) daily averages are missing for 11 or more days,

or (2) daily averages are missing for a period of 5 or more consecutive days. Monthly precipitation sums are set to missing if any day is missing. QUALITY CONTROL The data and metadata

(geographical coordinates) in HCLIM have been quality controlled. Quality control or QC is the process to detect and label suspicious or potentially wrong values. This is necessary to avoid

possible errors within datasets that could compromise the results of subsequent analysis30. All metadata are deposited in a user-friendly inventory for this purpose. Information in this

inventory includes station ID, name, latitude, longitude, elevation, start and end years of the time series, source, link, variable, temporal statistics (e.g., average, sum, etc.), unit

(e.g., °C, mm) and other information. The QC of the metadata in the inventory is undertaken by limit tests for latitude, longitude, and elevation, starting and ending dates of the series,

variable names and units and cross-checks of the inserted country and the latitude and longitude. For the QC of the data, we apply the following tests to each variable: * 1. Range checks

based on constant values. The range is shown in Table 6. This includes a check of physically impossible values such as negative values for precipitation. * 2. Climatological outlier checks

based on standard deviation, which requires at least 5 years of data. We use a threshold of 5 standard deviations. The values that fail these tests are then confirmed manually before being

flagged in the Station Exchange Format (SEF31) (described in the Format section under Data Records). The newly digitized data underwent additional quality checks at subdaily and daily

resolution as described in Brunet _et al_.30. REMOVING DUPLICATES The next step was to create an algorithm that recognizes duplicates in the dataset. The same data can appear in several

files. These can be copies of identical data compiled from several sources, different datasets (e.g., several observers in the same city), datasets supplemented with data from another city,

or all possible combinations thereof (differently merged datasets). We have some examples of data from one meteorological station appearing 19 times within the 28 different databases. The

records were grouped by parameter (temperature, air pressure, precipitation, and number of wet days). Within each group we first calculated a distance (d) matrix. The second step was to

calculate correlations for all pairs having d <50 km. A threshold value of >0.98 for the pair of records was set to define a duplicate. The records fulfilling both the distance and

correlation criteria were then included in a merge list of the target record. Proceeding record by record, merge lists were generated for each record, and a merged record was generated

according to a priority list described below. Records included in a merge were excluded from the procedure when proceeding to the next record. Note that we did not use the station name to

identify duplicates. This is because the same station might have different names, locations exist in many different languages and spelling, and different locations may have the same station

name. In each merge list, highest priority was given to the records having the earliest start date. These records were extended (or gap filled) with data series starting later. In addition,

homogenized sources (of which there are few) were prioritized (e.g., HISTALP32). In case of identical start years (usually indicating identical data) we proceeded alphabetically. We further

show an example from Madison, Wisconsin (USA) of how this method works and how the merging part of the removing duplicates takes place. Table 7 shows the merge list for this station. Note

that three other stations with the name “Madison” exist (Fig. 4b) but are not in Wisconsin and represent different stations. As we do not include station names in the criteria to search

duplicates, these stations were treated as separate stations as they are further away than 50 km and have a correlation below 0.98 with Madison Wisconsin. Eight meteorological stations from

Madison had temperature measurements and were tested for duplication and combined or merged, as indicated in Fig. 3. Three stations are included in this merged Madison record. First the

record from US Forts, because the record starts first or is the oldest (this is shown in Fig. 3, highlighted in green), and then two time series from GHCN (highlighted in red). The gray

arrows indicate when the time series starts. Periods or observations marked with a dashed arrow show observations that are included when the time series has gaps. The Madison station

(GHCN_USW00094811 Madison Truax) had some small gaps in the 1860’s and a large gap after 1963. Consequently, another GHCN record (GHCN_USW00014837 – Rgnl_Ap) becomes the dominant record

through the merging process. BREAKPOINT DETECTION The removing of duplicates causes some records to be merged, as in the example in Figs. 3,4a. This in turn can introduce large

inhomogeneities in the data. We flag them using a Welch’s t-test on a 5-year moving window applied to monthly anomalies. The point in time where the inhomogeneity occurs, or breakpoint, is

where the maximum of the absolute value of the test statistic occurs. The procedure is similar to the Standard Normal Homogeneity Test33, but we require the size of the inhomogeneity to be

larger than the average of the standard deviations of the two data segments that are separated by the breakpoint. In addition, we consider data gaps of 10 years or longer as breakpoints

independently of the results of the statistical test. Figure 4a shows the merged temperature record from Madison (1853–2021) with 6 breakpoints found through breakpoint detection (1877,

1882, 1952, 1997, 2012 and 2015). Only one of the breakpoints (1882) corresponds to a merging point. It is associated with a large step inhomogeneity. We did not homogenize data in HCLIM,

but we provide the breakpoints and the merging information, both of which can be used for homogenization. DATA RECORDS OVERVIEW After eliminating obvious duplicates and applying the

‘removing duplicates’ algorithm, we ended up with 12452 merged meteorological time series across 4 parameters. These series constitute the HCLIM dataset. The HCLIM dataset has been deposited

in a public repository and can be easily downloaded from the site15. Table 8 provides an overview of the numbers of records downloaded for the various parameters in each step of the data

processing in the HCLIM dataset. Table 9 indicates how many years and stations years are included in the HCLIM dataset. In total there are over one million station years, of which 148,843

are before 1891 (Table 8). The largest numbers, both in terms of stations years and number of stations, concern precipitation (Table 8). The variable with the least number of stations and

station years is pressure. FORMAT All data were reformatted to the Station Exchange Format (SEF). This is a format introduced by the Copernicus Climate Change Service31. It provides a simple

but standard format for the distribution of historical weather data. SEF files have a.tsv format (tab-separated values) and list basic metadata regarding the station and the data

manipulation in a header. The SEF is designed for rescuing observations and present them for widespread use in an uncomplicated format and made accessible through publicly available

software. The aim of such SEF files is that they can be easily integrated into global repositories31. An example is shown in Fig. 5. The data are also available in a single compact flat file

(.csv format) where, however, no metadata are provided. Geographical coordinates can be retrieved from an inventory file. TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL COVERAGE All the earliest meteorological

records started in Europe. The first record is for wet days in Resterhafe-Osteel (Germany), which started in 1586. The first instrumental records started in 1658 for temperature, 1670 for

air pressure and 1688 for precipitation; all of which are from Paris. Table 10 lists the oldest records in HCLIM, organized continentally. For example, the first thus far known temperature

measurements outside Europe are for Charleston in the USA, beginning in 1738. Figures 6, 7 show global maps of the available records sorted by start year and length. Our collection includes

2359 temperature records, 3134 precipitation records, 160 air pressure records and 1551 number of wet days records that contain more than 100 years of data. For temperature 117 records

contain more than 200 years and 5 records more than 300 years. The five longest records are listed in Table 11. Outside Europe, the Boston record is the 11th longest for temperature with 148

observation years before 1891. Westmoreland at Jamaica, situated in the Caribbean Sea in Central America has the longest time series for precipitation record with 131 years of observations

before 1891, having started in 1760, and is the 33rd longest in HCLIM. Adelaide in Australia has the longest record outside Europe for number of rain days, parameter with 103 years before

1891. Precipitation had better coverage in Africa and Australia, pressure is even more limited to Europe. Figure 8 provides an overview of the compilation of all records in HCLIM until 2021.

Figure 8a shows the start years and the distribution per parameter, while Fig. 8b shows the length of the records. The maximum length of ~150 years is largely a product of not having

considered series starting after 1890. As seen in Fig. 8a, the typical trend is that most records began in the late 19th century round year 1880–90 (pressure is little earlier) and it

increases and ends up with an explosive development towards the end of the seventeenth century for all parameters. However, the largest increase in the number of meteorological records

occurred in the mid and late 19th century. This development does not apply to air pressure data, mostly because not as many data rescue projects have targeted this variable. EXAMPLES The era

of the first recorded meteorological observations begins during the 17th century in Europe. Here we show a few examples of the earliest and longest time series for each parameter. Paris has

the earliest and longest meteorological records lasting over 200 years for three meteorological parameters (temperature, pressure, and precipitation). Rousseau34,35 developed a monthly

temperature record available back to 1658. This is the longest continuous instrumental meteorological record (duration: 360 years). Figure 9a shows the annual temperature time series from

Paris, with breakpoints marked. Annual averages are calculated as the average or the sum, it depends on the parameter (WMO36), and if there are missing values, the additional uncertainty

introduced in the estimation of an average monthly value described in WMO29, for example, is also taken into account. After Evangelista Torricelli’s invention of the barometer in 1643,

systematic measurements of pressure began in 1670, also in Paris. From this, the Paris MSLP (Mean Sea-Level Pressure) record was compiled and published by Cornes _et al_.37. Unfortunately, a

gap in the series still exists for the period 1726–1747, for which it seems that no barometer observations have survived, however, there is no clear inhomogeneity in the longer dataset. The

annual average MSLP for Paris (1670–2007) is presented in Fig. 9b. The Paris precipitation record (Fig. 9c) begins in 1688 and is the longest known continuous precipitation record38. There

is a long gap in the record (18 years after 1755), to which a breakpoint is assigned by definition. Prague has the longest time series (Fig. 9d) for rain days without any gap. TECHNICAL

VALIDATION As described in the Methods section, we provide raw data. Result from the QC control provides an indication of the general data quality (Table 12). Most QC flags are for

precipitation. The well-known global databases have few QC flags (Table 12). This became clear when every single database that was downloaded was quality controlled. These are probably

previously well controlled. It should also be mentioned that until the end of the 19th century there was no standard regulation for meteorological observations16,39. However, to be precise

the first international standards were set in 1873, although it was mostly about observation times and reporting standards40. For these reasons, testing the raw data and all the available

metadata is the best option with which to optimize the use of the database. Every individual user will be able to apply the type of post-processing that is best suited to their needs. After

applying our breakpoint detection algorithm, we find large inhomogeneities in ca. 76% of the temperature records, 41% of the pressure records, 48% of the precipitation records, and 77% of

the wet days’ records (after de-duplication). This corresponds to an average homogeneous period (i.e., number of station years divided by the number of breakpoints) of 33, 56, 129, and 37

years, respectively. We stress that smaller inhomogeneities remain undetected and that the detection is less effective for precipitation series, where the signal-to-noise ratio is very low.

This can be relevant for applications such as trend analysis and would require more advanced detection methods that make use of reference series. USAGE NOTES The data products can be widely

used in climate change research, such as reconstructions and data assimilations. Our database is based on an equivalent methodology that was previously developed by many others (GHCN, ISTI,

Berkeley Earth etc). But this product represents the most comprehensive pre-industrial global dataset at a monthly temporal resolution. The data have been quality controlled and duplicate

dataset removed. Although a breakpoint detection has been performed, complete homogenization is still required. Hence, we do not recommend using the dataset for trend analyses at the current

stage, but the utility of the database is equally valuable, for analysis of singular extreme events, or the impact of volcanic eruptions (Laki in 1783, Tambora in 1815 and the Year Without

a Summer, etc). CODE AVAILABILITY R code used for formatting, quality control, removing duplicates, and breakpoint detection are publicly available under https://github.com/elinlun/Hclim.

The data are available at PANGAEA15. REFERENCES * Brázdil, R. _et al_. Extreme droughts and human responses to them: the Czech Lands in the pre-instrumental period. _Clim. Past_ 15, 1–24,

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1-2019 (2019). Article  Google Scholar  * Cornes, R. C., Jones, P. D., Briffa, K. R. & Osborn, T. J. Estimates of the North Atlantic Oscillation back to

1692 using a Paris-London westerly index. _International Journal of Climatology_ 33(1), 228–248, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3416 (2013). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Timmreck, C. _et

al_. The unidentified volcanic eruption of 1809: why it remains a climatic cold case. _Clim. Past_ 17(4), 1455–1482, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1455-2021 (2021). Article  Google Scholar 

* Küttel, M., Luterbacher, J. & Wanner, H. Multidecadal changes in winter circulation-climate relationship in Europe: frequency variations, within-type modifications, and long-term

trends. _Clim. Dyn._ 36, 957–972, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-009-0737-y (2011). Article  Google Scholar  * Valler, V., Franke, J., Brugnara, Y. & Brönnimann, S. An updated global

atmospheric paleo‐reanalysis covering the last 400 years. _Geoscience Data journal_ 00:1–19, https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.121 (2021). Article  Google Scholar  * Slivinski, L. C. et al.

Towards a more reliable historical reanalysis: Improvements for version 3 of the Twentieth Century Reanalysis system. Royal Meteorological Society, Volume 145, Issue724

https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3598 (2019). * Brunet, M. & Jones, P. D. Data rescue initiatives: Bringing historical climate data into the 21st century. _Climate Research_ 47(1), 29–40,

https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00960 (2011). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Hawkins, E. _et al_. Estimating Changes in Global Temperature since the Preindustrial Period. _American Meteorological

Society_ 98(9), 1841–1856, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0007.1 (2017). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Menne, M. J., Williams, C. N., Gleason, B. E., Rennie, J. J., Lawrimore, J. H.

The global historical climatology network monthly Temperature dataset, Version 4. _J. Climate_ 31 (24): 9835–9854 https://www.jstor.org/stable/26661466 (2018). * Rohde, R. et al. New

Estimate of the Average Earth Surface Land Temperature Spanning 1753 to 2011, _Geoinfor Geostat: An Overview 1:1_ https://doi.org/10.4172/2327-4581.1000101 (2013). * Nicholson, S. E.,

Dezfuli, A. K. & Klotter, D. A two-century precipitation dataset for the continent of Africa. _Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc_ 93, 1219–1231, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00212.1 (2012).

Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Przybylak, R., Wyszyński, P., Nordli, Ø. & Strzyżewski, T. Air temperature changes in Svalbard and the surrounding seas from 1865 to 1920. _Int. J.

Climatol._ 36, 2899–2916, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.4527 (2016). Article  Google Scholar  * Ashcroft, L., Gergis, J. & Karoly, D. J. A historical climate dataset for southeastern

Australia, 1788-1859. _Geosci. Data J._ 1(2), 158–178, https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.19 (2014). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Brönnimann, S. _et al_. Unlocking pre-1850 Instrumental

Meteorological records – A global Inventory. _Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society_ 100, 389–413, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0040.1 (2019). Article  Google Scholar  *

Lundstad, E., Brugnara, Y. & Brönnimann, S. Global Early Instrumental Monthly Meteorological Multivariable Database (HCLIM). _PANGAEA_ https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.940724

(2022). * Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth (ACRE): https://www.met-acre.net/ * Dove, H. W. _Temperaturtafeln nebst Bemerkungen¸ über die Verbreitung der Temperatur auf

der Oberfläche der Erde und ihre jährlichen periodischen Schwankungen_. Erste, Zweite, Dritte und Vierte Abhandlung. Berlin (1838, 1839, 1842). * La Société royale de médecine (Royale de

Médecine or Royal Society of Medicine) in Paris (1776-1789). * Societas Meteorologica Palatina, Ephemerides Societatis Meteorologicae Palatinae: Observations anni 1781-92, Vol. 12, edited

by: Hemmer, J. J., Mannheim (1783-95). * Brugnara, Y. Swiss Early Meteorological Observations (CHIMES). _PANGAEA_ https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909141 (2020). * Brugnara, Y. _et

al_. A collection of subdaily pressure and temperature 3 observations for the early instrumental period with a focus on the “year without a summer” 4 1816. _Clim. Past_ 11, 1027–1047,

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1027-2015 (2015). Article  Google Scholar  * Middleton, W. E. K. _Invention of the Meteorological Instruments_. The Johns Hopkins Press: Baltimore (1969). *

World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Guidelines on Best Practices for Climate Data Rescue. WMO-No. 1182 https://library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?explnum_id=3318 (2016). * Brugnara, Y. Global

early instrumental climate data digitized at the University of Bern. Bern Open Repository and Information System. 10.48620/7 (2021). * Global Land and Marine Observations Dataset (GLAMOD):

https://climate.copernicus.eu/global-land-and-marine-observations-database * Noone, S. _et al_. Progress towards a holistic land and marine surface meteorological database and a call for

additional contributions. _Geosci. Data J._ 8, 103–120, https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.109 (2021). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Copernicus Climate Change Service data store:

https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/#!/home * Muñoz Sabater, J. _et al_. ERA5-Land: a state-of-the-art global reanalysis dataset for land applications. _Earth Syst. Sci. Data_ 13, 4349–4383,

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4349-2021 (2021). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Guidelines on the Calculation of Climate Normals. WMO-No. 1203

https://library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?explnum_id=4166 (2017). * Brunet, M. et al. Best Practice Guidelines for Climate Data and Metadata Formatting, Quality Control and Submission. Copernicus

Climate Change Service https://doi.org/10.24381/kctk-8j22 (2020). * Station Exchange Format (SEF) https://datarescue.climate.copernicus.eu/ * Historical Instrumental Climatological Surface

Time Series of the Greater Alpine Region: http://www.zamg.ac.at/histalp/index.php * Alexandersson, H. & Moberg, A. Homogenization of Swedish temperature data. Part I: Homogeneity test

for linear trends. _International Journal of Climatology_ 17(1), 25–34, https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0088(199701)17:1%3C25::AID-JOC103%3E3.0.CO;2-J (1997). Article  ADS  Google Scholar

  * Rousseau, D. Les moyennes mensuelles de températures à Paris de 1658 à 1675, d’Ismaël Boulliau (1658-1660) à Louis Morin (1665–1675). _La Météorologie, 8e série_ 81, 11–22 (2013).

Article  Google Scholar  * Rousseau, D. Les températures mensuelles en région parisienne de 1676 à 2008. _La Météorologie, 8e série_ 67, 43–55 (2009). Article  Google Scholar  * World

Meteorological Organization (WMO). Guide to Climatological Practices WMO-No. 100 https://library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?explnum_id=5541 (2018). * Cornes, R. C., Jones, P. D., Briffa, K. R.

& Osborn, T. J. A daily series of mean sea‐level pressure for Paris, 1670–2007. _International Journal of Climatology_ 32(8), 1135–1150, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.2349 (2012). Article

  ADS  Google Scholar  * Slonosky, V. C. Wet winters, dry summers? Three centuries of precipitation data from Paris. _Geophysical Research letters_ 29(No.19), 1895,

https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GL014302 (2002). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Kingston, G. T. _Meteorological Service, Dominion of Canada: Instruction to Observers_. Toronto (1878). * The

Meteorological congress at Vienna (1873). _Nature publishing group_ https://www.nature.com/articles/010017a0 (1874). * Stockholm Historical Weather Observations (Moberg, A.)

https://bolin.su.se/data/stockholm * Allan, R. _et al_. The International Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth (ACRE) Initiative. _Bulletin of the American Meteorological

Society_ 92(11), 1421–1425, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26218599 (2011). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth (Allen, R.)

http://www.met-acre.org/Home * Zaiki, M. _et al_. Recovery of 19th century Tokyo/Osaka meteorological data in Japan. _Int. J. Climatol._ 26, 399–423, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1253 (2006).

Article  Google Scholar  * Deutscher Wetterdienst: https://opendata.dwd.de/climate_environment/CDC/observations_germany/climate/ * Berkeley Earth data:

https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/climate-data/global-surface-temperatures-best-berkeley-earth-surface-temperatures * Jones, P. D., Parker, D.E., Osborn, T.J., Briffa, K.R. _Global and

Hemispheric Temperature Anomalies – Land and Marine Instrumental Records_. CRU & Hadley Centre https://www.osti.gov/dataexplorer/biblio/dataset/1389299 (2006). * Climatic Research Unit:

https://crudata.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/temperature/ * Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN):

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/land-based-station-data/land-based-datasets/global-historical-climatology-network-monthly-version-4 * Franke, J., Brönnimann, S., Bhend, J. &

Brugnara, Y. A monthly global paleo-reanalysis of the atmosphere from 1600 to 2005 for studying past climatic variations. _Sci Data_ 4, 170076, https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.76 (2017).

Article  Google Scholar  * Compo, G. P. et al. _The International Surface Pressure Databank version 4_. Research Data Archive at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Computational

and Information Systems Laboratory https://doi.org/10.5065/9EYR-TY90 (2019). * The International Surface Pressure Databank (ISPD): https://rda.ucar.edu/datasets/ds132.2/ * Rennie, J. J. _et

al_. The International surface temperature initiative global land surface databank: monthly temperature data release description and methods. _Geosci. Data J._ 1, 75–102,

https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.8 (2014). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * ISTI data: http://www.surfacetemperatures.org/ * Slonosky, V. C. Hazardous weather events in the St. Lawrence Valley

from the French regime to Confederation: descriptive weather in historical records from Quebec City and Montreal, 1742–1869 and 1953—present. _Nat Hazards_ 98, 51–77,

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-019-03612-5 (2019). Article  Google Scholar  * Slonosky, V. C. Historical climate observations in Canada: 18th and 19th century daily temperature from the St.

Lawrence Valley, Quebec. _Geosci. Data J._ 1, 103–120, https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.11 (2014). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Open Data Rescue (Canada): https://opendatarescue.org *

Brugnara, Y. _et al_. Early instrumental meteorological observations in Switzerland: 1708–1873. _Earth Syst. Sci. Data_ 12, 1179–1190, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1179-2020 (2020).

Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Kaspar, F., Tinz, B., Mächel, H. & Gates, L. Data rescue of national and international meteorological observations at Deutscher Wetterdienst. _Adv. Sci.

Res._ 12, 57–61, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-12-57-2015 (2015). Article  Google Scholar  * DWD – overseas data: https://www.dwd.de/EN/ourservices/overseas_stations/overseas_stations.html *

Klein Tank, A. M. G. _et al_. Daily dataset of 20th-century surface air temperature and precipitation series for the European Climate Assessment. _Int. J. Climatol._ 22, 1441–1453,

https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.773 (2002). Article  Google Scholar  * European Climate Assessment & Dataset: https://www.ecad.eu/ * Domínguez-Castro, F. _et al_. Early meteorological

records from Latin America and the Caribbean during the 18th and 19th centuries. _Sci. Data_ 4, 170169, https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.169 (2017). Article  Google Scholar  * Camuffo, D.

& Jones, P. D. Improved Understanding of Past Climatic Variability from Early Daily European Instrumental Sources. _Climatic Change_ 53(1), 1–4, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014902904197

(2002). Article  Google Scholar  * Camuffo, D. & Jones, P. D. _Improved Understanding of Past Climatic Variability from Early Daily European Instrumental Sources_. Springer

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-010-0371-1#editorsandaffiliations (2002). * Auer, I. _et al_. HISTALP – historical instrumental climatological surface time 13 series of the

Greater Alpine Region. _Int. J. Climatol._ 27, 17–46, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1377 (2007). Article  Google Scholar  * Japan-Asia Climate Data Program:

https://jcdp.jp/instrumental-meteorological-data/ * Brunet, M., Gilabert, A., Jones, P. D. & Efthymiadis, D. A historical surface climate dataset from station observations in

Mediterranean North Africa and Middle East areas. _Geoscience Data Journal_ 1, 121–128, https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.12 (2014). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * C3-EURO4M-MEDARE Mediterranean

historical climate data (MEDARE): https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7531 * Przybylak, R., Vizi, Z. & Wyszyński, P. Air temperature changes in the Arctic from 1801 to 1920. _Int. J.

Climatol._ 30, 791–812, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1918 (2010). Article  Google Scholar  * HARD 2.0 – Historical Arctic Database: http://www.hardv2.prac.umk.pl/ * Ashcroft, L. _et al_. A

rescued dataset of subdaily meteorological observations for Europe and the southern Mediterranean region, 1877–2012. _Earth Syst. Sci. Data_ 10, 1613–1635,

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1613-2018 (2018). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * SEA – Historical Climate Data (Australia): https://lindenashcroft.com/research/ * Klein Tank, A. M. G. _et

al_. Changes in daily temperature & precipitation extremes in central and south Asia. _J. Geophys. Res._ 111, D16105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006316 (2006). Article  ADS  Google

Scholar  * Southeast Asian Climate Assessment & Dataset (SACA&D): https://www.climateurope.eu/southeast-asian-climate-assessment-dataset-sacad/ * Precipitation data from Africa:

https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00212.1 * Westcott, N. E. et al. _Quality Control of 19__th_ _Century Weather Data_. Midwestern Regional Climate Center, Illinois State Water Survey,

Illinois (2011). * Westcott, N. E., Cooper, J., Andsager, K., Stoecker, L. A. & Shein, K. Status and Climate Applications of the 19th Century Forts and Volunteer Observer Database. _J.

Applied and Service Climatology_, Vol. 2021(2) https://doi.org/10.46275/JOASC.2021.09.001 (2021). * Forts and volunteer Observer Database: https://mrcc.purdue.edu/data_serv/cdmp/cdmp.jsp *

Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut: http://projects.knmi.nl/klimatologie/daggegevens/antieke_wrn/index.html * MétéoFrance:

https://meteofrance.com/comprendre-climat/etudier-climat-passe * MétéoFrance: http://archives-climat.fr/ * Norsk Meteorologisk Institutt: https://seklima.met.no/ * Roshydromet Всероссийский

научно-исследовательский институт: http://meteo.ru/english/climate/cl_data.php * Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska institut: https://www.smhi.se/data/meteorologi/temperatur * Toaldo,

G. La Meteorologia applicata all’Agricoltura, Storti, Venice (1775). * Pappert, D. Unlocking weather observations from the Societas Meteorologica Palatina (1781–1792). _Clim. Past_ 17,

2361–2379, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-57 (2021). Article  Google Scholar  * Alcoforado, M. J., Vaquero, J. M., Trigo, R. M. & Taborda, J. P. Early Portuguese meteorological

measurements (18th century. _Clim. Past_ 8, 353–371, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-353-2012 (2012). Article  Google Scholar  * Brázdil, R., Kiss, A., Luterbacher, J. & Valášek, H. Weather

patterns in eastern Slovakia 1717–1730, based on records from the Breslau meteorological network. _International Journal of Climatology_ 28(12), 1639–1651, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1667

(2008). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Kunz, M., Kottmeier, C., Lähne, W., Bertram, I. & Ehmann, C. The Karlsruhe climate time series since 1779. _Meteorologische Zeitschrift_ 31(No.

3), 175–202, https://doi.org/10.1127/metz/2022/1106 (2022). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Camuffo, D., Valle, A. D., Becherini, F. & Zanini, V. Three centuries of daily precipitation

in Padua, Italy, 1713–2018: history, relocations, gaps, homogeneity, and raw data. _Climatic Change_ 162-4, 923–942, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-017-1931-2 (2020). Article  ADS  Google

Scholar  * Camuffo, D., Becherini, F. & Valle, A. D. Temperature observations in Florence, Italy, after the end of the Medici Network (1654–1670): the Grifoni record (1751–1766).

_Climatic Change_ 162, 943–963, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02760-z (2020). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Camuffo, D., Valle, A. D., Bertolin, C. & Santorelli, E. Temperature

observations in Bologna, Italy, from 1715 to 1815: a comparison with other contemporary series and an overview of three centuries of changing climate. _Climatic Change_ 142, 7–22,

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-017-1931-2 (2017). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Cornes, R. C. Robert Boyle’s weather journal for the year 1685. _Weather_ 75, 272–277,

https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.3531 (2020). Article  ADS  Google Scholar  * Demarée, G. R. & Ogilvie, A. E. J. Climate-related Information in Labrador/Nunatsiavut: Evidence from Moravian

Missionary Journals. _Meded. Zitt. K. Acad. Overzeese Wet._ 57(2-4), 391–408 (2011). Google Scholar  * Domínguez-Castro, F. _et al_. Early Spanish meteorological records (1780–1850). _Int.

J. Climatol._ 34(3), 593–603, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3709 (2014). Article  Google Scholar  * Filipiak, J. & Miętus, M. History of the Gdańsk Pre-Instrumental and Instrumental Record

of Meteorological Observations and Analysis of Selected Air Pressure Observations. In: Przybylak R., Majorowicz, J., Brázdil, R., Kejna M. (eds) _The Polish Climate in the European Context:

An Historical Overview_, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3167-9_12 (2010). * Rodrigo, F. S. Early meteorological data in southern Spain during the

Dalton Minimum. _Int. J. Climatol._ 39, 3593–3607, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.6041 (2019). Article  Google Scholar  * EMOWA data http://repositorio.ual.es/handle/10835/10636 (Rodrigo,

2021). * Slonosky, V. C. Daily Minimum and Maximum Temperature in the St-Lawrence Valley, Quebec: Two Centuries of Climatic Observations from Canada. _Int. J. Climatol._ 35(7), 1662–81,

https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.4085 (2015). Article  Google Scholar  * Slonosky, V. C. The Meteorological Observations of Jean-François Gaultier, Quebec, Canada: 1742–56. _J. Clim_., 16,

2232–2247 10.1175/1520-0442(2003)16<2232:TMOOJG>2.0.CO;2 (2003). * Thomas Jefferson’s weather journal: https://jefferson-weather-records.org/ * Ives, G. A history of the monsoon in

southern India between 1730 and 1920 and its impact on society https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/27995/1/Gemma_Ives_Corrected_Thesis.pdf (2020). Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work

was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme grant agreement No 787574 (PALAEO-RA), by the Swiss National

Science Foundation (project WeaR 188701), by Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) 311a Lot 1, by the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss in the framework of GCOS

Switzerland (project “Long Swiss Meteorological Series”). The work of R.P. was supported by the NCN projects No. DEC 2020/37/B/ST10/00710 and No. 2020/39/B/ST10/00653, and by funds from the

Nicolaus Copernicus University–Emerging field: Global Environmental Changes. We thank all digitizers for their help in rescuing the meteorological data. Thank you for the collaboration and

the data sharing from Anders Moberg41 Rob Allen42,43, Masumi Zaiki44, and Lisa Hannak45. EL would like to thank colleagues at GiUB (Geographisches Institut, Universität Bern) and colleagues

at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (Anita Verpe Dyrrdal, Oscar Landgren, Line Båserud and Reidun Gangstø Skaland) for help with formatting and quality control advice. Thanks also to

the Norwegian Meteorological Institute for loaning an office during the COVID-19 pandemic, when E.L. mostly spent time in Norway given the reduced outbreak and fewer restrictions in that

country. The reconstructions and all analyses presented in this data descriptor have been performed based on free and open-source software (R & Python). AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND

AFFILIATIONS * Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland Elin Lundstad, Yuri Brugnara, Duncan Pappert, Jérôme Kopp, Eric Samakinwa, André Hürzeler & Stefan Brönnimann

* Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland Elin Lundstad, Yuri Brugnara, Duncan Pappert, Jérôme Kopp, Eric Samakinwa, André Hürzeler & 

Stefan Brönnimann * Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Hamburg, Germany Axel Andersson, Lydia Gates & Birger Tinz * Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik (ZAMG), Vienna, Austria

Barbara Chimani * National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, United Kingdom Richard Cornes * Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium Gaston Demarée * Department of

Meteorology and Climatology, Institute of Geography, University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland Janusz Filipiak * University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom Gemma L. Ives * Department of

Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom Julie M. Jones * Météo-France, Toulouse, France Sylvie Jourdain * Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources

Management, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria Andrea Kiss * Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS), Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA Sharon E. Nicholson &

 Jason Cooper * Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland Rajmund Przybylak * Centre for Climate Change Research, Nicolaus Copernicus

University, Toruń, Poland Rajmund Przybylak * Climatic Research Unit (CRU), University of East-Anglia (UEA), Norwich, United Kingdom Philip Jones & Manola Brunet * Conseil Supérieur de

la Météorologie, Toulouse, France Daniel Rousseau * Departamento de Química y Física, Universidad de Almería, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain Fernando S. Rodrigo * School of

Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Stefan Grab * Departamento de Geografía y Ordenación del Territorio, Universidad de

Zaragoza & ARAID foundation, Zaragoza, Spain Fernando Domínguez-Castro * Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montréal, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada Victoria Slonosky

* National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Asheville, NC, USA Jason Cooper * Universidad Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona,

Spain Manola Brunet Authors * Elin Lundstad View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Yuri Brugnara View author publications You can also search

for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Duncan Pappert View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Jérôme Kopp View author publications You can

also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Eric Samakinwa View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * André Hürzeler View author

publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Axel Andersson View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Barbara

Chimani View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Richard Cornes View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google

Scholar * Gaston Demarée View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Janusz Filipiak View author publications You can also search for this author

inPubMed Google Scholar * Lydia Gates View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Gemma L. Ives View author publications You can also search for

this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Julie M. Jones View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Sylvie Jourdain View author publications You can

also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Andrea Kiss View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Sharon E. Nicholson View author

publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Rajmund Przybylak View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Philip

Jones View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Daniel Rousseau View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google

Scholar * Birger Tinz View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Fernando S. Rodrigo View author publications You can also search for this author

inPubMed Google Scholar * Stefan Grab View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Fernando Domínguez-Castro View author publications You can also

search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Victoria Slonosky View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Jason Cooper View author

publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Manola Brunet View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Stefan

Brönnimann View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CONTRIBUTIONS E.L. processed the data and undertook quality control of the data, as also

produced the figures; Y.B. was responsible for the data rescue initiative and provided figures for this section, a review of the QC and the breakpoint detection section of the manuscript;

S.B. conceptualized the project and its intellectual configuration; Y.B. and S.B. provided methodological advice and provided code, especially for the removing duplicates script. E.L.

developed the first draft of the manuscript. E.L., Y.B., S.B. contributed to editing and approved the final version of the manuscript. D.P., J.K., E.S., A.H. have helped with data editing,

A.A., B.C., R.C., G.D., J.F., L.G., G.L.I., J.M.J., S.J., A.K., S.E.N., R.P., P.J., D.R., B.T., F.S.R., S.G., F.D-C., M.B., V.S., J.C. and M.B. contributed data. All the authors contributed

to reviewing and editing the manuscript. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Elin Lundstad. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare no competing interests. ADDITIONAL

INFORMATION PUBLISHER’S NOTE Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION SUPPLEMENTARY

FIGURE 1 SUPPLEMENTARY FIGURE 2 SUPPLEMENTARY FIGURE 3 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS OPEN ACCESS This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the

source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative

Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by

statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Lundstad, E., Brugnara, Y., Pappert, D. _et al._ The global historical climate

database HCLIM. _Sci Data_ 10, 44 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01919-w Download citation * Received: 14 June 2022 * Accepted: 19 December 2022 * Published: 19 January 2023 *

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01919-w SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is

not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative