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Data Source: all climate projections presented in this data portal are derived from a 5-member PRECIS ensemble generated by Wang, et. al at the University of Regina. The PRECIS ensemble was ran at a 25 km x 25 km resolution. Learn more details >>
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Copyright © 2013 - IEESC, University of Regina.
Please use the latest version of web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, IE, or Safari) to access this data portal.
Developed by Xander Wang.
Contact: ccdp@uregina.ca
About Us

Ontario Climate Change Data Portal (hereinafter, Ontario CCDP) is launched to ensure technical or non-technical end-users (e.g. municipalities, private sector) have easy and intuitive access to the latest climate data over the Province of Ontario, Canada.

Up to now, Ontario CCDP has incorporated the high-resolution (25 km x 25 km) climate projections developed by the IEESC at the University of Regina using the PRECIS model and the RegCM model under RCP4.5, RCP8.5, and SRES A1B emissions scenarios. Other modeling results will be gradually integrated into this data portal in the near future.

You are currently in the view window of climate projections under A1B emissions scenario. For more details, please refer to the full technical report. If you want to switch to the view window of RCP4.5 emissions scenario, please click here; if you want to switch to the view window of RCP8.5 emissions scenario, please click here.

Data Source

All climate projections presented in this data portal are derived from a 5-member PRECIS ensemble generated by Wang, et. al (2012, 2014) at the University of Regina. The PRECIS ensemble was ran at 25 km x 25 km resolution and driven by different boundary conditions (i.e. HadCM3Q0, Q3, Q10, Q13, and Q15) from the QUMP ensemble developed by UK Met Office Hadley Centre.

References

  • Wang et al. (2017). "Probabilistic projections of regional climatic changes over the Great Lakes Basin". Climate Dynamics, 49(7-8), 2237-2247.

  • Wang, Xiuquan, Gordon Huang (2014). "Technical Report: Developing Future Projected IDF Curves and a Public Climate Change Data Portal for the Province of Ontario". IEESC, University of Regina, Canada. >> Download

  • Wang, Xiuquan, et al. (2016). "GIS-Based Data Portal for Climate Change Impact Assessment". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 97: 17-18. >> Download

  • Wang, Xiuquan, et al. (2015). "Ensemble projections of regional climatic changes over Ontario, Canada". Journal of Climate, 28: 7327-7346. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0185.1. >> Download

  • Wang, Xiuquan, et al. (2015). "Twenty-first century probabilistic projections of precipitation over Ontario, Canada through a regional climate model ensemble". Climate Dynamics. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2816-6. >> Download

  • Wang, Xiuquan, et al. (2014). "High-resolution probabilistic projections of temperature changes over Ontario, Canada". Journal of Climate, 27, 5259–5284. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00717.1. >> Download

  • Wang, Xiuquan, et al. (2014). "High-resolution temperature and precipitation projections over Ontario, Canada: a coupled dynamical-statistical approach". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qj.2421. >> Download

  • Wang, Xiuquan, et al. (2014). "Projected increases in near-surface air temperature over Ontario, Canada: a regional climate modeling approach". Climate Dynamics. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00382-014-2387-y. >> Download

  • Wang, Xiuquan, et al. (2014). "Projected increases in intensity and frequency of rainfall extremes through a regional climate modeling approach". Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014JD022564. >> Download

  • Wang, Xiuquan, et al. (2013). "A stepwise cluster analysis approach for downscaled climate projection–A Canadian case study". Environmental Modelling & Software, 49, 141-151. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2013.08.006. >> Download

Citation

When referring to the maps and data sets published on this data portal, the source must be clearly and prominently stated and cited. We recommend to use the citation for appropriate data in the manner below:

Disclaimer

The IDF curves, maps, and climate data sets published on Ontario CCDP are for non-commercial research and educational purposes only. If you are a commercial user, please contact us for further permission. This data portal is developed with care and believed to be reliable, but mechanical or human errors remain a possibility. Any commercial users or development practitioners should use the data sets and preliminary results on this data portal with caution. The IEESC accepts NO responsibility for any inaccuracies or omissions in the data, nor for any loss or damage directly or indirectly caused to any person or body by reason of, or arising out of, any use of this data portal.

Acknowledgements

The development of Ontario CCDP was funded by Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.

FAQs (for A1B view window only)
Is it free for downloading climate data from Ontario CCDP?
Yes, it is.
Why do I need to create an account before downloading climate data?
We are trying our best to make this data portal as useful as possible by clearly knowing who are the major users, what kind of data sets are of most interest, etc. We therefore ask you to create an account before downloading the data provided by Ontario CCDP. This is to help us carry out some helpful statistics and make appropriate improvements to the data portal.
What kind of climate projections are available at this portal? absolute or changes? bias-corrected?
The initial intention of the Ontario CCDP is to provide users with probabilistic projections of the raw outputs from an ensemble run of the UK regional climate model PRECIS. Therefore the variables are presented as their absolute values. This would allow users the freedom to calculate change fields and or carry out bias-correction at their own preferences.

The portal has received numerous downloading request since its launch. As the portal evolves, relative changes and/or bias correction could be incorporated in future updates based on users needs. Before that happens, bias-corrected projections and relative changes can be provided, at a reasonable data volume, upon special requests.
What is the spatial resolution of the data sets?
It is 25 km.
How many percentiles are available for each variable?
For each variable, we calculated 9 percentiles: 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90%.
How many years are covered in your data sets?
We ran PRECIS model from 1950 to 2099 (i.e. 150 years). We then sliced these 150 years into four 31-yr time periods: 1960-1990, 2015-2045, 2035-2065, and 2065-2095. On each time period, all climate varialbes and IDF curves were calculated separately.
How many temperature-related variables are included?
The following temperature-related variables are available in this data portal:
  • Annual mean temperature
  • Seasonal mean temperature
  • Monthly mean temperature
  • Daily maximum, minmum, and mean temperature
  • Hourly temperature
How many precipitation-related variables are included?
The following precipitation-related variables are available in this data portal:
  • Annual total precipitation
  • Seasonal total precipitation
  • Monthly total precipitation
  • Daily total precipitation
  • Hourly total precipitation
Are there any other climate variables availabe?
Yes. In addition to temperature- and precipitation-related variables, we included the following variables:
  • Hourly surface relative humidity
  • Hourly surface solar radiation
  • Hourly surface wind speed
  • Hourly surface wind direction (i.e. U and V components).
How can I download the data file?
For temporally averaged data sets (i.e. annual, seasonal, and monthly), you can download one file including the data of all grid points by clicking on the "Download" button on the main Main Panel.

For timeseries data sets (i.e. daily and hourly), you need to click on a specific grid point and find the download link to its data file in the pop-up window.

For IDF curves, you should follow the way of downloading timeseries data sets. Besides, you can save the IDF curves by right-clicking on the graph.
How is the data file named?
Generally, the data file(s) will be zipped into a package and named as follows:

      [Variable_Name]_[Time_Period]_[Averaging_Option]_[Percentile]_[Latitude]_[Longitude].zip

For example, the data files for annual mean temperature from 2065 to 2095 at 50% percentile will be zipped into:

      Average.temperature_2065.2095_Annual_P50_0.0000_0.0000.zip

Note that both latitude and longitude are set as 0.0000 in the above example, this means that the zipped package includes data for all grids.
How can I obtain the original outputs from your PRECIS ensemble to drive impact models?
Ontario CCDP provides percentile data of daily and hourly timeseries which may be used to drive impact models (e.g., hydrologic model or crop model). However, our major concern is that using the percentiles (e.g., 10%, 50%, and 90%) to drive impact models may generate weird outputs because each percentile of the timeseries does not necessarily come from one PRECIS model run. It seems more realistic if the original PRECIS outputs can be used as inputs for impact models. Unfortunately, Ontario CCDP does not include the original outputs from our PRECIS ensemble simulations. If you really want to use the PRECIS original outputs, please submit a formal proposal including your name, address, affiliation, contacts, research purpose and data requirements, research area (with detailed coordinates) to Xander Wang at: xander.wang@ontarioccdp.ca. We will try our best to accommodate your data requirements.
Do your climate projections use a real calendar?
No. Our climate projections in Ontario CCDP are based on the PRECIS model which uses an artificial calendar consisting of 360 days per year (i.e., each month with 30 days). This calendar is usually used in long climate simulations for internal organizational convenience. Please see the PRECIS technical report for more information.
Contact Us

Ontario CCDP is developed and maintained by Xiuquan (Xander) Wang in the School of Climate Change and Adaptation at the University of Prince Edward Island.

For any questions or comments, please contact: ccdp@uregina.ca.

Mailing Address:

        240, 2 Research Drive,
        IEESC, University of Regina
        Regina, Saskatchewan
        S4S 7H9, Canada
        Tel: (306) 337-3298

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By clicking on the above button, you agree to the terms below:
1) The maps and data sets publised in this data portal are for non-commercial purposes. Any commercial users should contact us for further permission.
2) We accepts no responsibility for any inaccuracies or omissions in the data, nor for any loss or damage directly or indirectly caused to any person or body by reason of, or arising out of, any use of this data portal.
3) When your are referring to the maps and data sets published in this data portal, the source must be clearly and prominently stated and citated.