What is an indicator?

A climate indicator presents a parameter that is tracked for a long time period. It can for example be average temperature, global radiation and days with snow cover. Many of the climate indicators are presented as deviations from the reference period 1961-1990.

The climate indicators can be used as a guide on how the climate is changing, or to explain phenomena related to climate change. They can also be used to explain complex phenomena and, in some cases, they can be used as a warning signal. Also, the indicators can be used in a broader perspective as comparisons with other countries’ indicators or climate analysis. Comparisons can also be made with results from different climate models.

It is important that the indicators used are similar so that they can be comparable over time and space. The observations should therefore be collected from the same locations throughout the time series. When it comes to climate indicators, there are many requirements when it comes to access to long series, as the change is a relatively slow process with possibly large natural variability.

Read the explanations about the climate indicators used, how they are defined and calculated on this website in this article (article).