Temperature climate layer

Extreme Minimum Temperature Map

Explore the lowest modeled temperature at each location during 2011–2025. This map highlights rare cold extremes rather than typical winter conditions.

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

What this map shows

For each grid cell, the map shows the lowest available hourly ERA5-Land 2 m air temperature found during the 2011–2025 analysis period.

It is not an average winter temperature and not the mean of annual minima. Because the value is determined by a single extreme event, it represents the most severe modeled cold event within the period rather than a typical year.

How it is calculated

MetriClima converts available hourly ERA5-Land t2m (2 m air temperature) samples from kelvin to degrees Celsius and selects the lowest hourly value in each month. It then selects the lowest monthly value for each complete UTC calendar year and finally the lowest of those 15 annual minima across 2011–2025 for each grid cell. Daily minimum 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 extreme

The value is the lowest modeled hourly temperature within this fixed 15-year analysis window. A longer or different period could contain a lower extreme.

°C / °F

Values are continuous temperatures displayed in unit-specific bands. Lower values indicate more severe modeled cold extremes.

How to interpret the map

Use this layer to compare the most severe modeled cold event within the 2011–2025 period. It should be interpreted as a period extreme, not as the temperature expected every year.

A large gap between this layer and Mean Annual Minimum Temperature indicates that the coldest event was much more severe than the location’s characteristic annual minimum.

Applications

  • Comparing severe cold extremes between locations
  • Identifying locations where rare freezes may exceed typical hardiness expectations
  • Providing climatic context for cold-tolerance and winterization assessments
  • Providing context for resilience and contingency planning

Limitations

  • A single modeled event controls the value, so uncertainty in that event matters more than for an average.
  • The map does not estimate return periods or the probability of a colder future event.
  • Local frost pockets and station-scale extremes may be colder than a 0.1° reanalysis grid cell represents.
  • Hourly sampling may miss lower temperatures occurring between ERA5-Land hourly samples.

Explore this map by country

Open Extreme Minimum 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)