Publicly available (often free) weather and climate data has exploded in popularity in the last few years and can be found all over the internet. Seeing more and more data out there means everybody needs to be aware of what is trustworthy and what is not. The sharing of incorrect or manipulated information is one of the most damaging and challenging enemies scientists face in the 21st century.

The vast majority of weather and climate data users download data from the same sources. I will touch on some of the most popular and reputable sources for weather and climate data. It is also extremely important to discuss how the data is represented. The same data can look very different on various platforms.

I discuss some sources I use here.