dataset · Global
GloFAS historical & forecast (EWDS)
GloFAS historical & forecast (EWDS) (Copernicus CEMS). Access: CDS API. Formats: GRIB, NetCDF. Resolution: 0.05°. Coverage: Global. Pricing/licence: free (CC BY 4.0).
Visit source ↗Source details
Licence: free (CC BY 4.0)
Evidence quality: 36.9
Verified 2026-10-16 (curl HTTP 200).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- river discharge · soil wetness index (root zone) · snow water equivalent · runoff water equivalent (surface plus subsurface) · upstream area (ancillary) · elevation (ancillary)
- Coverage docs-verified
- Global except Antarctica (90N-60S, 180W-180E) · 1 January 1979 to near real time (v5.0 and v4.0)
- Resolution docs-verified
- 0.05° x 0.05° spatial; daily temporal
- Update frequency docs-verified
- Intermediate (ERA5T-based) hydrological data updated daily; consolidated (ERA5-based) updated monthly
- Formats docs-verified
- GRIB2 · NetCDF-4
- Access llm-inferred
- Free; requires EWDS login/registration. Licence per docs is CEMS-FLOODS datasets licence, which conflicts with the ENTRY's CC BY 4.0 licence and needs checking before reuse.
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- FRA baseline flow estimates for ungauged catchments from gridded GloFAS discharge · Long-term (1979 onward) modelled flow record for catchment hydrology and flood frequency context · Antecedent soil wetness and snowmelt inputs for flood risk and water balance assessments · Upstream area and elevation ancillary layers for catchment characterisation
- Audience llm-inferred
- flood consultants · hydrologists · water resources engineers · GIS analysts
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- Modelled (LISFLOOD forced by ERA5), not observed gauge data; calibrate or validate against local gauges · Antarctica excluded from the domain · 0.05° grid is coarse for small catchments · Intermediate data is based on near-real-time ERA5T and may be revised when consolidated data is released · Login/registration required on EWDS · GRIB2 and NetCDF-4 files need decoding tools · Licence conflict between docs (CEMS-FLOODS) and ENTRY metadata (CC BY 4.0)
Evidence
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.