Overview
Do you want to learn to use climate data and information in your work
with confidence, even though you don't have a background in climate
data science? Then this course is for you!
Climate change is no longer a distant concern — it is shaping the
decisions we make today. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, sea
level rise, and more frequent extreme events affect water management,
infrastructure, health, food systems, and economies worldwide.
So whether you are a researcher, advisor, policymaker, extension worker
or educator - whether you work in finance, insurance, urban planning,
renewable energy, or any other sector, it is likely that climate change
is a factor you have to take into account.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) provides reliable,
consistent and authoritative information about climate change that is
freely accessible - and with its user-friendly tools and services, C3S
has made quality climate data easy to use.
To help professionals around the world find, interpret and confidently
use C3S climate data and information in their work, C3S launched this open online course in 2026, which provides learners with the necessary
knowledge and skills to use climate data.
Using climate data starts with understanding what climate data are, how
they are produced, what different types of climate data are available to
you, what these can and cannot be used for, and where you can find the
data you need.
Understanding climate data doesn’t mean having to become a climate
scientist, but you do need to understand the basics to make the right
choices for your needs.
Join our first online short course to understand the basics of climate
data and gain the confidence to find, interpret, and use the right
information in your own work.
COURSE LIVE RUN SCHEDULE
Enrollment Start Date: 18 December
Enrollment End Date: 31 March
Course Start Date: 23 February
Course End Date: 31 May
*The live run has ended, but registration for the self-paced course remains open.
The course currently consists of six modules on climate data offered by C3S, with two additional modules to be released in 2027. Together, they form a structured learning pathway in which each module builds on the previous one. The first six modules provide the foundational knowledge needed to understand climate data, while the additional modules will focus on applying this knowledge to support climate-informed decision-making across different sectors.
Objectives of the training
This course introduces the foundations of climate data: what it is, how
it is collected, processed, and made available by C3S. It enables you to
make sense of the climate data types provided by C3S, understand their
scope of use and limitations. It provides an overview of the C3S Climate
Data Store (CDS) and other tools and services offered by C3S. Climate
data types covered in this course include observations, reanalysis,
seasonal predictions, and climate projections, with derived indicators
covered in the next MOOC in the series.
After this course you will be able to:
By the end of this course, you will be able to navigate the world of
climate data and apply it confidently in your field.
Target audience
This course is for anyone who needs or wants to (better) understand
climate data but does not have necessary knowledge yet to make sense of
different climate data types: what they can and cannot be used for, who
uses these data types, and where you may find the climate data that fits
your needs.
Example learners for whom this course was created:
No expertise in the domain of climate data is needed to follow this course.
Course structure and content
The course is fully online and self-paced, meaning that you may go through the content in your own time. Study load for the course amounts to a total of approximately 18-20 study hours. The course is available on an ongoing basis, with the first facilitated live run taking place in 2026.
It consists of six modules, with the first covering the foundations of
climate data and introducing the five climate data types that will be
explored in the subsequent modules: observations, models, reanalysis,
predictions, and projections.
Each module has a variety of learning activities and real-life examples
that allow you to get a solid understanding of the basics of climate
data and enable you to explore the C3S data sets. In each module
you will meet a professional with a climate data need for a particular
purpose. These cases illustrate the use of climate data in practice.
Other learning content includes videos, images, text, podcasts, quizzes, and discussion questions.
Course live run schedule
The course live run started on February 23 with module one. Consecutive modules were released each week. Find an overview of the release dates below. The live run of the course remained open until May 31, 2026.
-THE LIVE RUN HAS ENDED, BUT REGISTRATION REMAINS OPEN-
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Module
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Release date
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Module 1
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23.02.2026
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Module 2
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02.03.2026
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Module 3
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09.03.2026
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Module 4
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16.03.2026
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Module 5
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23.03.2026
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Module 6
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30.03.2026
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Course contributors
This course was created by ECMWF through C3S and contracted to
Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Input to the course was also
provided by experts from academia, national meteorological services and
private industry.
