Climate Monitor
"Better information drives better management decisions"
The Queensland Governments Drought and Climate Adaptation Program (DCAP) is helping the horticulture and agriculture industries across Queensland through research, development and extension activities. DCAP aims to help producers better manage drought and climate impacts.
Climate Monitor allows the user to analyse and graph minimum and maximum temperature and rainfall for all available years, calculate thermal time (chill and heat units) and be able to retrieve, analyse and graph temperature thresholds (for a chosen location).
The final report for ths tool can be found here
These climate variables are critical drivers of product quality and income potential. This location specific climate analysis capability is equally valuable to broadacre cropping (e.g., sorghum, wheat, chickpeas, cotton), cattle operations and horticultural businesses, where knowledge of planting windows (maximum and minimum temperature) as well as heat stress factors are major drivers of potential yield, sustainability and profit.
This unique analysis tool will allow horticultural business managers to refine and improve their business decisions around crop choice, variety, planting dates and location, and to maximise their chance of harvesting a high-quality crop, by identifying their optimum crop growth time slots.
Climate Monitor allows improved, detailed location specific (5km grid) climate analysis, supporting and under-pinning better, more informed management decisions.
Business owners and managers can use Climate Monitor to plan and prepare based on location specific comparisons of climate records and the current BoM seven-day forecast data, with historical “norms”.
Climate Monitor allows you to easily review if and how climatic conditions have changed at your chosen production location over time. Users can also research alternate “ideal” production locations and times elsewhere in Australia, based on their crops’ “ideal growing conditions”, and potentially move, modify or expand their production footprint to maximise product quality and supply continuity.
Project Leader – David Carey, Senior Horticulturist, Horticulture and Forestry Science, DAF Qld
Project Team Members – Dr Neil White, Principal Scientist, Horticulture and Forestry Science, DAF Qld; Peter Deuter, Horticultural Consultant, PLD Horticulture & Yiru Chen, Horticulturist, Horticulture and Forestry Science, DAF
How to use Climate Monitor
Climate Monitor allows you to select one or more stations and/or grid cells up to a maximum of 3. Locations can be selected first or added to existing analyses.
- Selection a location or multiple locations
- Click Temperature menu item and then Historical or an analysis or click Rainfall and Evaporation. Rainfall and evaporation options are currently limited to Historical analyses
- Historical
- Average observations for climate variable
- Thresholds
- Count number of days that meet the given criteria
- Chilling/Growth Potential
- Calculations for Chill Portions, Chilling Hours, Growing Degree Days, Growing Degree Hours
- Output
- This is where the graphs are displayed
- Information
- Useful links
- Download
- Download the observations for the location(s) as a CSV file.Data from each location is compressed and downloaded as a zip file
- Notes
- Additional Information on methods used
Select one or more stations (blue circles) or click anywhere there is not a cicrle. The latter selects from the 5 km grid and a blue marker 
is shown, click the marker if you are satisfied it is in the correct place and it will be shown as a red dot.
Up to three stations and/or grid cells can be selected.
Use the map on the right to select a station or narrow down the search area by typing a partial name (case doesn't matter) for the station of interest.
Only stations that record temperature are shown.
Alternatively, select a grid cell.
Locations
Missing observations are patched using a variety of techniques Missing observations are marked with a code other than 0 in the downloaded met. file
For Technical issues: Dr Neil White, Qld Dept. of Agriculture and Fisheries
© State of Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Based on or contains data provided by the State of Queensland (Department of Environment & Science) [2022]. In consideration of the State permitting use of this data you acknowledge and agree that the State gives no warranty in relation to the data (including accuracy, reliability, completeness, currency or suitability) and accepts no liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for any loss, damage or costs (including consequential damage) relating to any use of the data. Data must not be used in breach of the privacy laws.
Temperature
Select a season, then ➡️
Either this ⬇️
Or this ⬇️
Season
Days Above/Below Threshold
Consecutive Days Above/Below Threshold
Select a season, then ➡️
Either this ⬇️
Or this ⬇️
Season
Chill
Growing Degrees
Rainfall
Temperature forecast tools
Operational BoM temperature products - available to the public
Items of interest
Chilling
- Chill Hours
- Chill Portions
Calculated as the number of hours where the temperature is greater than 0ºC and less than 7.2ºC, see Bennet (1949) and Weinberger (1950).
Calculated using the methodology of Erez et al. (1990)
Growth Potential
- Growing Degree Days
- Growing Degree Hours
This has been calculated as the average daily temperature minus the base temperature (Tbase)
calculated using the metholodology of Anderson et al. (1986) using the ASYMCUR model
References
Bennett JP (1949) Temperature and bud rest period. Calif Agric 3 (11), 9-12
Weinberger JH (1950) Chilling requirements of peach varieties. Proc Am Soc Hortic Sci 56, 122-128
Anderson JL, Richardson EA, Kesner CD (1986) Validation of chill unit and flower bud phenology models for 'Montmorency' sour cherry. Acta Hortic 184, 71-78
Erez A, Fishman S, Linsley-Noakes GC, Allan P (1990) The dynamic model for rest completion in peach buds. Acta Hortic 276, 165-174