The problem

The archives of KNMI in the Netherlands contain large amounts of not yet digitized Indonesian climate data from the colonial period. These data extend from about 1850 to 1970 and consist of meteorological observations of several elements, reported with hourly to monthly resolutions.

Because Indonesia is situated in a data sparse area, meteorological observations there are of great importance for climate research. The records matter to the Global Climate Observing System and to the atmospheric observation community, and to economic use, security and the effort to better understand, anticipate and adapt to climate change. To exploit the potential of these sources, they have to be made electronically accessible with the highest possible time resolution and quality, and be extended with the more recent climate data of Indonesia since about 1970.

Objectives of the project

The objective of the project is to create new datasets of historical Indonesian climate data that at present are available only in hardcopy documents. This includes the infrastructure to make the data electronically accessible.

The data are presented as observed time series of high temporal and spatial resolution, together with images of the original logbooks and the relevant metadata. They are free of charge and easily accessible to the scientific and policy making community dealing with climate change and its impacts. Where applicable, the newly digitized datasets are coupled with the corresponding modern data in Indonesia, and the resulting extended datasets are likewise made freely available.

At the end of the project the data were analysed for quality and homogeneity, and the results of that analysis were published in peer reviewed journals.