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Over 25 Years of Global Infrared Data Now Available

The  Climate Prediction Center (CPC) 4 km Infrared (IR) dataset archive now extends back to January 1998, offering over 25 years of high-resolution infrared observations and continuing into the present.
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George J. Huffman, Andrey Savtchenko, Andrea Portier
June 20, 2025
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The NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission and the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) announced a significant update to the CPC 4 km Infrared (IR) dataset archive. The dataset now extends back to January 1998, offering over 25 years of high-resolution infrared observations and continuing into the present.

This key environmental dataset, produced operationally by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC), merges observations from geosynchronous satellites around the globe to generate uniformly processed thermal infrared maps. Data are available every 30 minutes at  4 km spatial resolution, covering the region from  60°N to 60°S—the zone of effective geostationary satellite coverage. 

This is an image of infrared brightness temperatures showing Hurricane Mitch on October 26, 1998, at 18:00 UTC. Cloud tops reached frigid temperatures of 196 K, indicating intense convective activity and likely overshooting tops at 16 km altitude. The hurricane’s track is overlaid, with the deepest red symbol marking a central pressure of 905 mb. Mitch remains one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes on record, with more than 9,000 lives lost, primarily from flooding in Honduras and Nicaragua.

Infrared brightness temperatures showing Hurricane Mitch on October 26, 1998, at 18:00 UTC. Cloud tops reached frigid temperatures of 196 K, indicating intense convective activity and likely overshooting tops at 16 km altitude. The hurricane’s track is overlaid, with the deepest red symbol marking a central pressure of 905 mb. Mitch remains one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes on record, with more than 9,000 lives lost, primarily from flooding in Honduras and Nicaragua.

Scientific and Societal Value

The CPC 4 km IR product’s unparalleled record length for such fine temporal and spatial resolution enables detailed studies of:

  • Tropical cyclones
  • Atmospheric rivers
  • Rainfall and snowfall patterns
  • Storm and cloud system dynamics
  • Surface temperatures in cloud-free regions

Researchers and decision-makers can use the dataset to investigate both current and historical atmospheric phenomena with precision.

Data Access and Tools

The CPC 4 km IR dataset is hosted in the netCDF-4 format by the GES DISC. Users can:

Each new day of data becomes available with a  1–2 day latency, in accordance with international data sharing agreements. 

 

Details

Last Updated

June 20, 2025

Published

June 20, 2025

Data Center/Project

Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)