Annual Global High-Resolution Extreme Heat Estimates

The Annual Global High-Resolution Extreme Heat Estimates data set provides global 5-km gridded annual counts of the number of days where the maximum wet bulb global temperature (WBGTmax) exceeded dangerous hot-humid heat thresholds for the period 1983 – 2016. The thresholds are based on the International Standards Organization criteria for occupational heat-related risk, defined as days where WBGTmax > 28 °C, 30 °C, and 32 °C. The data set also includes the annual rate of change in the count number of hot days that exceed these thresholds. This data set has a wide array of applications for mapping and quantifying extreme hot-humid heat dynamics over a 34-year time period. It is the highest resolution dataset of its kind to date. The data set can pinpoint how changes in hot-humid heat impact human health and well-being worldwide, from municipality-level analysis, to national, regional and global change from 1983 – 2016. The data set offers utility for both scientific researchers and decision-makers from a wide range of arenas including climate change, public and occupational health, urban planning and design, hazards risk reduction, and food security.