ECMWF AIFS

ECMWF's AI-based forecasting model that provides global weather forecasts at 0.25° resolution.

Live Forecast Data

  • Global coverage at 0.25° resolution (721x1440 grid)

  • Four daily runs (00, 06, 12, 18 UTC)

  • 20-day prediction horizon (480h, six-hourly)

  • Real-time data access via Python SDK or REST API

Technical Specifications

Available Weather Parameters

AIFS uses standardized variable naming conventions. For full details on the naming structure, see Weather Variable Naming.

Parameter Code
API Name
Description
Units

2t

air_temperature_at_height_level_2m

Air temperature at 2m

K

10si

wind_speed_at_height_level_10m

Horizontal wind speed at 10m

m s⁻¹

10wdir

wind_direction_at_height_level_10m

Horizontal wind direction at 10m

Degrees true

100si

wind_speed_at_height_level_100m

Horizontal wind speed at 100m

m s⁻¹

100wdir

wind_direction_at_height_level_100m

Horizontal wind direction at 100m

Degrees true

msl

air_pressure_at_mean_sea_level

Mean Sea-level Pressure

Pa

z_500

geopotential_at_pressure_level_50000Pa

Geopotential

m² s⁻²

ssrd

surface_downwelling_shortwave_flux_sum_6h

Surface solar downward irradiance

J m⁻²

strd

surface_downwelling_longwave_flux_sum_1h

Surface thermal downward irradiance

J m⁻²

hcc

high_type_cloud_area_fraction

Cloud fraction in high levels of troposphere

range between [0,1]

mcc

medium_type_cloud_area_fraction

Cloud fraction in medium levels of troposphere

range between [0,1]

lcc

low_type_cloud_area_fraction

Cloud fraction in low levels of troposphere

range between [0,1]

tcc

cloud_area_fraction_at_entire_atmosphere

Cloud fraction

range between [0,1]

Additional Variables on Request

Parameter Code
API Name
Description
Units

tcwv

atmosphere_mass_content_of_water_vapor

Total column vertically-integrated water vapour

kg m⁻²

2d

dew_point_temperature_at_height_level_2m

2 metre dewpoint temperature

K

t

air_temperature_at_pressure_level (at 13 levels)

Temperature at a specified pressure level

K

u

eastward_wind_at_pressure_level (at 13 levels)

U component of wind

m s⁻¹

v

northward_wind_at_pressure_level (at 13 levels)

V component of wind

m s⁻¹

q

specific_humidity_at_pressure_level (at 13 levels)

The mass of water vapour per kilogram of moist air at a specified pressure level

kg kg⁻¹

z

geopotential_at_pressure_level (at 13 levels)

The gravitational potential energy of a unit mass

m² s⁻²

tp

total_precipitation

Precipitation (accumulated over 6h)

mm

Note: For information on the previous naming convention used in EPT-1.5, see Legacy Naming.

Hindcast Data

Spatial Extent: Global, on a grid of 721x1440 (25 km resolution).

Data Access: Point queries (up to 25 points per request) via API or SDK. See Historical Data Examples for usage examples. For grid-based access, please contact [email protected].

Model

Temporal Extent

Forecast Horizon and Resolution

AIFS-Single v1.0

2025-06-06 - today

at 00, 06, 12, 18 UTC

480h, six-hourly

Extended Hindcast Data (Special Request Only)

Model

Extended Temporal Coverage

Forecast Horizon and Resolution

AIFS-Single v1.0

2023-01-02 - 2024-12-27

at 00, 06, 12, 18 UTC

480h, six-hourly

Last updated