Weather Extremes Archive

This record contains the core data of the Weather Extremes Archive (WEXA; https://wexa.jamstec.go.jp) database, divided into two main components:

event_statistics.zip (JSON Format): Contains the physical properties and metadata of the archived extreme weather events

event_labels.zip (NetCDF Format): Contains the unique gridded labels (variable: event_labels) corresponding to the events. 

The JSON file details the following physical properties for each extreme weather event:

Properties

JSON field

Description

Event ID

event_id

A unique identifier based on: beginning_date, end_date, longitude, and latitude

Event label

event_label

Integer-valued grid identifier that uniquely labels each detected extreme event in space and time, consistent with the corresponding labels stored in the NetCDF dataset

Start date

start_date

First date on which grid points are under the influence of an event

End date

end_date

Last date on which grid points are under the influence of an event

Duration

duration

Time elapsed (days) from the start date to the end date

Status

status

An ongoing event denotes an event that lasts up to the latest data available. These events are subject to change as newer data are added.

Center latitude

center_lat

Latitude of the maximum time-integrated standardized T2m anomalies. Only T2m of the same polarity as the events are considered (positive  for a HW, for instance). The centre is thus representative of both the severity and persistence of anomalies.

Center longitude

center_lon

Same as above but for longitude

Center latitude formatted

center_latf

Formatted version of center latitude

Center longitude formatted

center_lonf

Formatted version of center longitude

Westernmost longitude

western_lon

Westernmost longitude affected by event

Easternmost longitude

eastern_lon

Easternmost longitude affected by event

Southernmost latitude

southern_lat

Southernmost latitude affected by event

Northernmost latitude

northern_lat

Northernmost latitude affected by event

Event type

event_type

Type of the event detected

Detection variable

detection_var

Variable used for the detection scheme

Area

area

The area (in km2) encompassing all grid points under the influence of an event during its lifetime.

Countries affected

countries_affected

The World Countries database (https://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/esri::world-countries/) is used to obtain a list of all the countries affected by an event during its lifetime.

Continents affected

continents_affected

The World Countries database (https://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/esri::world-countries/) is used to obtain a list of all the continents affected by an event during its lifetime.

IPCC regions

IPCC_regions

List of all IPCC regions affected. More details about these regions are provided at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/factsheets/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Regional_Fact_Sheet_Introduction.pdf and the shapefiles describing these regions were obtained from https://github.com/IPCC-WG1/Atlas/tree/devel/reference-regions

Oceans basins affected

oceans_affected

World_Seas_IHO_v3.shp dataset is used to obtain a list of all the ocean basins affected by an event during its lifetime.

Polygons

polygons

Polygon vertices describing the boundary of the event at each time step

Mean anomaly amplitude

mean_amp

Mean  anomaly over entire duration

Max anomaly amplitude

max_amp

Maximum  anomaly recorded over entire duration

Evolution of maximum T2m

evo_maxamp

The daily evolution of maximum

Evolution of mean T2m

evo_areamean

The daily evolution of mean

Evolution of maximum T2m anomalies

anom_evo_maxamp

The daily evolution of maximum  anomalies

Evolution of mean T2m anomalies

anom_evo_areamean

The daily evolution of mean  anomalies

Evolution of maximum standardized T2m anomalies

anom_scaled_evo_maxamp

The daily evolution of maximum standardized  anomalies

Evolution of mean standardized T2m anomalies

anom_scaled_evo_areamean

The daily evolution of mean standardized  anomalies