Temperature climate layer

Seasonal Temperature Range Map

Explore the difference between the warmest and coldest climatological monthly mean temperatures during 2011–2025. This seasonal temperature range is commonly used as an indicator of continentality—the degree to which a climate experiences strong seasonal temperature contrasts.

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

What this map shows

For each grid cell, MetriClima calculates a 2011–2025 mean temperature for each calendar month, then subtracts the coldest of those 12 climatological monthly means from the warmest.

The result measures the climatological seasonal temperature range. It is not the day–night temperature range, the difference between record extremes, or the average of 15 separately calculated annual ranges.

How it is calculated

MetriClima converts available hourly ERA5-Land t2m (2 m air temperature) samples from Kelvin to degrees Celsius and calculates a mean for each calendar month and grid cell in every complete year. It then takes the equal-year arithmetic mean for each calendar month across 2011–2025 and subtracts the coldest of the 12 climatological monthly means from the warmest.

Values represent temperature differences. A Celsius temperature difference is converted to Fahrenheit by multiplying by 9/5; no 32-degree offset is applied. Changing units affects the displayed value and legend bands, not the underlying seasonal-range statistic.

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 climatological range

The range is derived from 12 calendar-month means, each averaged across 15 complete years. It describes seasonal contrast in this recent period and is not a standard 30-year climate normal.

°C / °F

Values represent temperature differences rather than absolute temperatures. A temperature difference of 20 °C.

How to interpret the map

A mapped value of 20 °C means the warmest climatological monthly mean is 20 °C higher than the coldest. The value does not identify those months or describe temperatures within them.

Lower seasonal ranges generally indicate stronger maritime or ocean influence, while higher ranges are commonly associated with greater thermal continentality. Seasonal range alone does not fully determine that influence.

Places with similar mean annual temperatures can still have very different seasonal ranges and seasonal climates.

Applications

  • Comparing seasonal temperature contrasts and broad patterns of thermal continentality
  • Providing climatic context for agriculture and ecosystems
  • Providing context for seasonal heating and cooling variation
  • Interpreting related climate-classification and growing-season indicators

Limitations

  • One range value compresses the full sequence of 12 monthly means and does not show the timing or duration of warm and cold seasons.
  • The metric is not a diurnal temperature range and does not describe record hot or cold events.
  • Monthly means and the ERA5-Land grid smooth short-lived and fine-scale local temperature variations.
  • This is a simple seasonal-range indicator of continentality, not a formal Continentality Index; formal indices may also account for latitude or use other definitions.
  • The 2011–2025 period is relatively short for climatology and is not a standard 30-year normal or a future projection.

Explore this map by country

Open Seasonal Temperature Range 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)