Temperature climate layer

Mean Annual Maximum Temperature Map

See the mean of each year’s highest available hourly ERA5-Land 2 m air temperature during 2011–2025. This metric helps compare the characteristic severity of annual heat extremes between locations.

Explore Interactive Map General methodology
Source
ERA5-Land
Climate period
2011–2025 average
Representation
°C / °F

What this map shows

For each grid cell, the map shows the arithmetic mean of 15 annual maximum temperatures—one highest available hourly ERA5-Land 2 m air temperature from each complete calendar year between 2011 and 2025.

It does not show the average daily maximum, average summer temperature, or the single hottest temperature in the full period. Those are different metrics with different practical meanings.

How it is calculated

MetriClima converts available hourly ERA5-Land t2m (2 m air temperature) samples from kelvin to degrees Celsius, selects the highest hourly value in each month, then the highest monthly value in each complete UTC calendar year, and calculates the arithmetic mean of those 15 annual maxima for each grid cell. Daily maximum temperature is not calculated first.

The same underlying temperature statistic is displayed in Celsius or Fahrenheit using unit-specific map bands.

Data source

MetriClima processes ERA5-Land surface data on the 0.1° latitude–longitude download grid. The physical spacing of this geographic grid varies with latitude. ERA5-Land is a land-surface reanalysis dataset providing consistent hourly climate variables.

This layer uses the ERA5-Land t2m variable, which represents air temperature 2 m above the land surface.

Provider
Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), produced by ECMWF

Climate period and representation

2011–2025 average

Average of the annual maximum temperature from 15 complete calendar years. Individual annual maxima within the period may have been lower or higher.

°C / °F

Values are continuous temperatures displayed in unit-specific bands. Higher values indicate more severe characteristic annual heat extremes.

How to interpret the map

A mapped value of 38 °C means the annual maximum averaged about 38 °C across the 2011–2025 period. Individual years may have had lower or higher annual maxima.

Use Extreme Maximum Temperature when the single hottest modeled event in the period matters more than the characteristic annual maximum.

Applications

  • Comparing characteristic annual heat extremes between locations
  • Providing initial climatic context for potential crop and livestock heat stress
  • Informing cooling, shading, and heat-resilience considerations
  • Providing climatic context for materials and infrastructure temperature-tolerance assessments

Limitations

  • The metric does not describe heatwave duration, humidity, nighttime heat, or human thermal comfort.
  • Urban hot spots, fine terrain, coastlines, and other local conditions may produce temperatures that differ from a 0.1° reanalysis grid cell.
  • A 15-year period may not capture the full range of low-frequency heat variability.
  • Hourly sampling may miss higher temperatures occurring between ERA5-Land hourly samples.

Explore this map by country

Open Mean Annual Maximum Temperature for a country to start the same interactive map focused on that geography.

Africa (54)
Asia (50)
Australia (14)
Europe (47)
North America (24)
South America (12)