GribStream Blog
ECMWF opens the full Real-time Catalogue to all users
ECMWF made its entire Real-time Catalogue openly available under CC BY 4.0 starting Oct 1, 2025, expanding access beyond the previous free subset.
On October 1, 2025, ECMWF opened access to its full Real-time Catalogue, making the complete data archive available to all users under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 license. Previously, only a limited open subset was freely accessible. ECMWF removed data charges, while delivery services may still incur cost recovery fees.
What changed
- Full Real-time Catalogue is now open to everyone (not just member-state users).
- The data are available under CC BY 4.0, enabling broad reuse with attribution.
- ECMWF plans to extend the free subset in 2026 from about 25 km resolution to 9 km for part of the catalogue.
Why it matters
For teams consuming ECMWF guidance, open access reduces friction for evaluation and research workflows. It also makes it easier to compare deterministic and ensemble products across ECMWF's ecosystem without licensing barriers.
What this means for GribStream users
GribStream already supports ECMWF-family models like IFS Operational and AIFS. As open ECMWF feeds become available through the cloud distribution channels we use, including the AWS Open Data program where applicable, we'll expand coverage and make access consistent with the rest of the GribStream catalog.