Dataset Development of China Surface Meteorological Radiation Climate Normals for the Period of 1991–2020

According to the China Basic Elements of Meteorological Radiation (V2.0) dataset archived by the National Meteorological Information Centre, the China Ground Meteorological Radiation Climate Normals (CGMRCN) dataset spanning 1991 to 2020 was developed. Throughout its development, a comprehensive quality check and verification of the metadata from ground radiation station observations dating back to 1991 were conducted. According to the site migration information of the observation station and the radiation observation history documents, the time nodes of the transition from manual observation to automatic observation were recorded, and the segmentation information needed for climate statistics was established. This yielded a standardized set of radiation climate background fields derived from more representative automatic observation methods. According to hourly radiation data from China’s Basic Elements of Meteorological Radiation (V2.0), the hourly annual climate normals for China’s surface meteorological radiation were obtained. Compared with the hourly radiation climate values of CGMRCN spanning 1981 to 2010, our dataset offers higher temporal resolution and broader applicability, enhancing its utility for various applications. For the period of 1991–2020, CGMRCN provides climatic background information on hourly (daily, 5-day, 10-day, monthly, and annually) total radiation, net total radiation, scattered radiation, vertical direct radiation, horizontal direct radiation, and reflected radiation from approximately 103 stations across China (including the mean values, cumulative values, extreme values, and occurrence date), providing data support for weather and climate research.