I found this useful website today which shows the average global cloud cover on an annual and monthly basis. It is however based on data from 1982-2001 so is a bit outdated esp with climate-change.
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~jander/clo ... louds.html
Here is a map showing the global annual average (the website states that "This material is not copyrighted and can be used freely.")
It shows that Singapore / Peninsular Malaysia's average is in the 70-80% range, which is not a surprise. The most cloud-free region is the Sahara.
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/%7Ejander/clouds/annual.png[/img]
Global cloud cover maps
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starfinder
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starfinder
- Posts: 1039
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Re: Global cloud cover maps
1. For everyone's info, Jay Anderson's Global Cloud Cover Maps, which show global cloud cover averages for each month, have been updated with data up to 2007. The webpage says: "The cloud cover values are an average of available data, from 1 July 1982 through 2007, from both daytime and nightime satellite passes."
See: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~jander/clo ... louds.html
2. I've found another good resource today for historical global cloud cover averages. It's on NASA's NEO website (Nasa Earth Observations):
http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/Search.html
To see the cloud cover charts, select the "Atmosphere" tab and then select the "Cloud Fraction" dataset. There's a list of cloud cover charts for 1-month averages for the past year; after selecting the desired month, click the "Get Image" button on the right to download the full resolution chart. I've downloaded the cloud cover charts for all 12 months onto a folder on my hard drive, which makes it easy to compare months. Poor Singapore, so cloudy!
You could also select more precise time datasets, e.g. 8 day averages.
Here is an associated website: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/GlobalMaps/index.php
3. Yet another resource: the Climatic Atlas of Clouds Over Land and Ocean, by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, and the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona:
http://www.atmos.washington.edu/CloudMap/index.html
4. And one can download archival satellite imagery for eastern and southeast Asia, courtesy of the University of Kochi (Japan), here: http://weather.is.kochi-u.ac.jp/archive-e.html
For southeast Asia, select: http://weather.is.kochi-u.ac.jp/sat/gms.sea/ It has the archived satellite imagery for every hour and every day since 1998, to the present.
If anyone else knows of other resources for historical cloud cover averages, pls share it here. Helps to plan astro trips!
See: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~jander/clo ... louds.html
2. I've found another good resource today for historical global cloud cover averages. It's on NASA's NEO website (Nasa Earth Observations):
http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/Search.html
To see the cloud cover charts, select the "Atmosphere" tab and then select the "Cloud Fraction" dataset. There's a list of cloud cover charts for 1-month averages for the past year; after selecting the desired month, click the "Get Image" button on the right to download the full resolution chart. I've downloaded the cloud cover charts for all 12 months onto a folder on my hard drive, which makes it easy to compare months. Poor Singapore, so cloudy!
You could also select more precise time datasets, e.g. 8 day averages.
Here is an associated website: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/GlobalMaps/index.php
3. Yet another resource: the Climatic Atlas of Clouds Over Land and Ocean, by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, and the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona:
http://www.atmos.washington.edu/CloudMap/index.html
4. And one can download archival satellite imagery for eastern and southeast Asia, courtesy of the University of Kochi (Japan), here: http://weather.is.kochi-u.ac.jp/archive-e.html
For southeast Asia, select: http://weather.is.kochi-u.ac.jp/sat/gms.sea/ It has the archived satellite imagery for every hour and every day since 1998, to the present.
If anyone else knows of other resources for historical cloud cover averages, pls share it here. Helps to plan astro trips!