Australia's Reference Climate Station Network

The Australian Reference Climate Station (RCS) network has been established for high quality, long-term climate monitoring, particularly with regard to climate change analysis. The establishment of the network followed a request by the World Meteorological Organization to all of its member nations in 1990.

Click on the link for the official definition of an RCS.

Around 100 RCSs have been selected from the existing Australian observation network. Preference was given to stations with

• high quality and long climate records,
• a location in an area away from large urban centres, and
• a reasonable likelihood of continued, long-term operation.

The Reference Climate Station network is shown on the map below (current to October 2007).

The orange dots represent the locations of Australia's Reference Climate Stations. By clicking on the dots you can see the current station details and a picture of the equipment type and placement. Note that the climate record for a RCS may include data from a few different station numbers over time. Details here are for the current open station.

Click here for a full listing of the RCS network in Australia.

Regular inspections by trained specialists will ensure that these stations are maintained to high standards. Detailed reports of any changes to the site and its surroundings will be made and procedures adopted to ensure that the quality of the records are not compromised.

A well maintained RCS network is important not only to the scientific community, but to local agriculture, tourism, other large industries, and society in general.