GribStream

CAMS Global Atmospheric Composition Forecast

GribStream Code: camsglobal

CAMS Global total aerosol optical depth at 550 nm across the native global grid with country boundaries — CAMS Global total aerosol optical depth at 550 nm from the 2026-07-11 00 UTC run at forecast hour 120, rendered from all 405,900 cells of the native 0.4 degree global grid with country boundaries. This plot was generated from the camsglobal dataset.

Official source: CAMS Global atmospheric composition forecasts are produced by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service and implemented by ECMWF. Current CAMS documentation identifies IFS Cycle 50r1, operational since May 12, 2026, as the forecast system behind the approximately 40 km global product.

Current GribStream scope: camsglobal contains 37 fast-access composition fields at the surface or as total columns. It deliberately excludes duplicate meteorological fields and multi-level chemistry in this first release. Forecasts run at 00 and 12 UTC with hourly lead times through 120 hours, and GribStream retains the latest five days.

Attribution: Contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service Information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of this information.

Description

CAMS Global forecasts the chemical and aerosol state of the atmosphere, not just the weather that transports it. The full operational system represents 56 reactive trace gases in the troposphere, stratospheric ozone, and seven aerosol types. It uses ECMWF's Integrated Forecasting System with CAMS modules for emissions, chemistry, transport, aerosol microphysics, deposition, and removal. Its initial state combines a previous forecast with satellite observations through four-dimensional variational data assimilation.

That distinction makes camsglobal useful when temperature, wind, and precipitation are only part of the operational question. Air-quality products need particulate matter and pollutant columns; solar applications need aerosol loading; logistics and environmental-risk systems may need to identify dust, smoke, or volcanic sulphur dioxide moving across national boundaries.

The first GribStream release focuses on 37 composition fields that CAMS keeps on fast-access storage. Surface particulate matter includes pm1, pm2p5, and pm10. Aerosol fields include total optical depth at five wavelengths and species-level optical depth at 550 nm. Total-column fields cover carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, methane, formaldehyde, nitric acid, halogen compounds, and other chemistry. Two UV fields provide biologically effective dose rates for all-sky and clear-sky conditions.

Source-native names and units stay visible. CAMS particulate matter is expressed in kg/m^3; multiply by 1e9 in a GribStream expression when a product needs micrograms/m^3. Aerosol optical depth is dimensionless, while total-column mass fields are expressed in kg/m^2. The UV fields are instantaneous biologically effective dose rates in W/m^2, not UV Index values; multiply by 40 to derive UVI. The parameter inventory below is the source of truth for each exact selector.

CAMS is model guidance rather than a local regulatory monitoring network. The 0.4 degree grid is designed for global transport and composition context, not street-level exposure estimates, and the operational forecast system changes as ECMWF introduces new IFS cycles. Use observations and regional products where regulatory or local-scale decisions require them.

Query /api/v2/camsglobal/timeseries for coordinate-based workflows or /api/v2/camsglobal/runs for run-oriented and gridded extraction. Pair CAMS with IFS for meteorological context, GEFS Chem for an ensemble composition comparison, or NOAA AQM for higher-resolution regional U.S. air-quality guidance.

Detail

Archive window: Last 5 days
Official dataset overview: https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/datasets/cams-global-atmospheric-composition-forecasts?tab=overview
Key features:
- Global 0.4 degree atmospheric composition guidance on a 900 by 451 regular latitude-longitude grid, updated from 00 and 12 UTC cycles.
- Hourly forecasts through 120 hours for PM1, PM2.5, PM10, aerosol optical depth, total-column chemical species, and biologically effective UV dose rate.
- Aerosol optical depth at 469, 550, 670, 865, and 1240 nm, plus 550 nm contributions from dust, sea salt, black carbon, organic matter, secondary organic aerosol, sulphate, nitrate, and ammonium.
- Total-column fields for carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, volcanic sulphur dioxide, methane, formaldehyde, nitric acid, and other reactive gases.
- CAMS and ECMWF short names remain visible in selectors, including pm2p5, aod550, duaod550, tcno2, and tc_VSO2.
- Satellite-constrained initialization for aerosol optical depth and selected trace gases, with timely CAMS GFAS biomass-burning emissions derived from satellite-observed fire radiative power.
Resolution: Regular 0.4 degree global latitude-longitude grid, approximately 40 km, with 900 longitudes by 451 latitudes from 90N to 90S.
Temporal coverage: 00 and 12 UTC cycles with hourly forecast lead times from 0 through 120 hours. GribStream retains a rolling five-day window of source runs.
Primary uses: Global air-quality context, particulate-matter and exposure products, dust and smoke transport, aerosol impacts on solar-energy operations, satellite and AOD comparison workflows, volcanic plume screening, environmental risk, and applications that need atmospheric composition alongside weather forecasts.

Related datasets

Parameters

Click a parameter to reveal variants in a compact table with ready-to-copy JSON selectors.

amaod550 –Ammonium aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Ammonium aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"amaod550","level":"surface","info":""}`

aod1240 –Total aerosol optical depth at 1240 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Total aerosol optical depth at 1240 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"aod1240","level":"surface","info":""}`

aod469 –Total aerosol optical depth at 469 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Total aerosol optical depth at 469 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"aod469","level":"surface","info":""}`

aod550 –Total aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Total aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"aod550","level":"surface","info":""}`

aod670 –Total aerosol optical depth at 670 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Total aerosol optical depth at 670 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"aod670","level":"surface","info":""}`

aod865 –Total aerosol optical depth at 865 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Total aerosol optical depth at 865 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"aod865","level":"surface","info":""}`

bcaod550 –Black carbon aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Black carbon aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"bcaod550","level":"surface","info":""}`

duaod550 –Dust aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Dust aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"duaod550","level":"surface","info":""}`

gtco3 –Total column ozone (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column ozone (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"gtco3","level":"surface","info":""}`

niaod550 –Nitrate aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Nitrate aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"niaod550","level":"surface","info":""}`

omaod550 –Organic matter aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Organic matter aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"omaod550","level":"surface","info":""}`

pm1 –Particulate matter with diameter at or below 1 micrometre (kg/m^3)

1 variant

Particulate matter with diameter at or below 1 micrometre (kg/m^3).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"pm1","level":"surface","info":""}`

pm10 –Particulate matter with diameter at or below 10 micrometres (kg/m^3)

1 variant

Particulate matter with diameter at or below 10 micrometres (kg/m^3).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"pm10","level":"surface","info":""}`

pm2p5 –Particulate matter with diameter at or below 2.5 micrometres (kg/m^3)

1 variant

Particulate matter with diameter at or below 2.5 micrometres (kg/m^3).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"pm2p5","level":"surface","info":""}`

soaod550 –Secondary organic aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Secondary organic aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"soaod550","level":"surface","info":""}`

ssaod550 –Sea-salt aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Sea-salt aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"ssaod550","level":"surface","info":""}`

suaod550 –Sulphate aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless)

1 variant

Sulphate aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (dimensionless).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"suaod550","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_HCN –Total column hydrogen cyanide (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column hydrogen cyanide (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_HCN","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_VSO2 –Total column volcanic sulphur dioxide (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column volcanic sulphur dioxide (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_VSO2","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_c2h6 –Total column ethane (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column ethane (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_c2h6","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_c3h8 –Total column propane (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column propane (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_c3h8","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_c5h8 –Total column isoprene (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column isoprene (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_c5h8","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_ch4 –Total column methane (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column methane (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_ch4","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_clo –Total column chlorine monoxide (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column chlorine monoxide (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_clo","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_clono2 –Total column chlorine nitrate (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column chlorine nitrate (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_clono2","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_h2o2 –Total column hydrogen peroxide (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column hydrogen peroxide (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_h2o2","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_hcl –Total column hydrogen chloride (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column hydrogen chloride (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_hcl","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_hno3 –Total column nitric acid (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column nitric acid (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_hno3","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_no –Total column nitrogen monoxide (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column nitrogen monoxide (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_no","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_oh –Total column hydroxyl radical (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column hydroxyl radical (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_oh","level":"surface","info":""}`

tc_pan –Total column peroxyacetyl nitrate (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column peroxyacetyl nitrate (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tc_pan","level":"surface","info":""}`

tcco –Total column carbon monoxide (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column carbon monoxide (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tcco","level":"surface","info":""}`

tchcho –Total column formaldehyde (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column formaldehyde (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tchcho","level":"surface","info":""}`

tcno2 –Total column nitrogen dioxide (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column nitrogen dioxide (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tcno2","level":"surface","info":""}`

tcso2 –Total column sulphur dioxide (kg/m^2)

1 variant

Total column sulphur dioxide (kg/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"tcso2","level":"surface","info":""}`

uvbed –UV biologically effective dose rate (W/m^2)

1 variant

UV biologically effective dose rate (W/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"uvbed","level":"surface","info":""}`

uvbedcs –Clear-sky UV biologically effective dose rate (W/m^2)

1 variant

Clear-sky UV biologically effective dose rate (W/m^2).

Level	Info	Horizon	Introduced	Selector
`surface`		0h-120h	5 days ago	`{"name":"uvbedcs","level":"surface","info":""}`

No parameters match your search.