Over the past two decades, the average wind speed in the United Kingdom has remained relatively stable. In 2024, the average wind speed in the UK was 8.4 knots. Speeds peaked during this period in 2015 at 9.4 knots, before falling to 8.4 knots the following year. One knot is equivalent to one nautical mile per hour. Overall, wind speeds have mostly remained between eight and nine knots, dropping to a low of 7.8 in 2010. The first and fourth quarters were the windiest Since 2010, the first and fourth quarters of each year generally recorded the highest wind speeds. The highest quarterly wind speed averages occurred in the first quarter of 2020, with speeds of approximately 11.5 knots. Between 2015 and 2023, the most noticeable deviation from the 10-year mean was recorded in February 2020. In this month wind speeds were 4.2 knots higher than normal. Optimal wind conditions for wind energy The United Kingdom has some of the best wind conditions in Europe for wind power, so it is no surprise that it plays an important role in the country's energy mix. As of 2023, there were 39 offshore wind farms operating in the UK, by far the most in Europe. Furthermore, in the same year, offshore wind power additions in the UK reached 1.14 gigawatts.

The Wind Integration National Dataset (WIND) Toolkit, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), provides modeled wind speeds at multiple elevations. Instantaneous wind measurements were analyzed from more than 126,000 sites in the continental United States for the years 2007–2013. The model results were mapped on a 2-km grid. A subset of the contiguous United States data for 2012 is shown here. Offshore data is shown to 50 nautical miles.Time Extent: Annual 2012Units: m/sCell Size: 2 kmSource Type: StretchedPixel Type: 32 Bit FloatData Projection: GCS WGS84Mosaic Projection:  WGS 1984 Web MercatorExtent: Contiguous United StatesSource: NREL Wind Integration National Dataset v1.1

WIND is an update and expansion of the Eastern Wind Integration Data Set and Western Wind Integration Data Set. It supports the next generation of wind integration studies.

Accessing Elevation InformationEach of the 9 elevation slices can be accessed, visualized, and analyzed. In ArcGIS Pro, go to the Multidimensional Ribbon and use the Elevation pull-down menu. In ArcGIS Online, it is best to use Web Map Viewer Classic where the elevation slider will automatically appear on the righthand side. The elevation slider will be available in the new Map Viewer in an upcoming release.

What can you do with this layer?

This layer may be added to maps to visualize and quickly interrogate each pixel value. The pop-up provides the pixel’s wind speed value.

This analytical imagery tile layer can be used in analysis. For example, the layer may be added to ArcGIS Pro and proposed wind turbine locations can be used to Sample the layer at multiple elevation to determine the optimal hub height. Source data can be accessed on Amazon Web ServicesUsers of the WIND Toolkit should use the following citations:Draxl, C., B.M. Hodge, A. Clifton, and J. McCaa. 2015. Overview and Meteorological Validation of the Wind Integration National Dataset Toolkit (Technical Report, NREL/TP-5000-61740). Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory.Draxl, C., B.M. Hodge, A. Clifton, and J. McCaa. 2015. "The Wind Integration National Dataset (WIND) Toolkit." Applied Energy 151: 355366.King, J., A. Clifton, and B.M. Hodge. 2014. Validation of Power Output for the WIND Toolkit (Technical Report, NREL/TP-5D00-61714). Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Zipped collections of shapefiles are available in two spatial reference or coordinate systems: 1) Irish Transverse Mercator (ITM, EPSG:2157) 2) WGS 84 Web Mercator (EPSG:3857) The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) offers the same data in its Wind Atlas, a digital map of Ireland's wind energy resource (http://gis.seai.ie/wind). SEAI's 2003 datasets of wind characteristics assist wind energy planners, developers and policy makers. Background on 2003 wind maps The 2003 wind-mapping project was completed by ESB International and TrueWind Solutions for SEAI (then SEI). It predicted wind characteristics, at heights of 50m, 75m and 100m, spanning onshore and offshore. (Larger heights of 125m and 150m were later covered in SEAI’s 2013 wind-mapping project.) The resulting GIS maps cover onshore in 200m grids, and offshore in 400m grids. Generally, wind maps extend to 15km offshore, or occasionally 20km. About the 2003 methodology, it iterated a MesoMap system and a faster WindMap model through reducing grid sizes. MesoMap is built on MASS (Mesoscale Atmospheric Simulation System), a numerical weather model that embodied the fundamental physics of the atmosphere. Iterations through the nested grids accounted for local land elevation, land cover and roughness. Final iterations accounted for increased wind shear and reduced near-surface wind speed at less windy sites. The 2003 Wind-mapping Project Report is available here.

There is no description for this dataset.

Mean average wind speeds in metres per second (m/s) at 20m above ground level. These datasets cover the geographic land area of Ireland and Irish Internal Waters. Data compilation was completed in 2013, by analysing measurements taken during 2001--2010.

Zipped collections of shapefiles are available in two spatial reference or coordinate systems:
1) Irish Transverse Mercator (ITM, EPSG:2157)
2) WGS 84 Web Mercator (EPSG:3857)

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) offers the same data in its Wind Atlas, a digital map of Ireland's wind energy resource (http://gis.seai.ie/wind). SEAI's wind speed datasets assist wind energy planners, developers and policy makers.

Mean average wind speeds in metres per second (m/s) at 50 m height. These datasets cover the land area and coastal waters of Ireland. Data Compilation was completed in 2003.

Zipped collections of shapefiles are available in two Spatial reference or coordinate systems: 1) Irish transverse Mercator (ITM, EPSG:2157) 2) WGS 84 Web Mercator (EPSG:3857)

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) offers the same data in its Wind Atlas, a digital map of Ireland’s wind energy resource (http://gis.seai.ie/wind). SEAI’s 2003 datasets of wind characteristics assist wind energy Planners, developers and policymakers.

_Background on 2003 wind maps_ The 2003 wind-mapping project was completed by ESB International and TrueWind Solutions for SEAI (then SEI). It predicted wind characteristics, at heights of 50 m, 75 m and 100 m, Spanning onshore and offshore. (Larger heights of 125 m and 150 m were later covered in SEAI’s 2013 wind-mapping project.) The resulting GIS maps cover onshore in 200 m grids, and offshore in 400 m grids. Generally, wind maps extend to 15 km offshore, or occasionally 20 km.

About the 2003 methodology, it iterated a MesoMap system and a faster WindMap model through reducing grid sizes. MesoMap is built on MASS (Mesoscale Atmospheric Simulation System), a numerical weather model that embodied the fundamental physics of the atmosphere. Iterations through the nested grids accounted for local land elevation, land cover and roughness. Final iterations accounted for increased wind shear and reduced near-surface wind speed at less Windy sites. The 2003 Wind-mapping Project Report is available here.

Wind speed averages in the United Kingdom are generally highest in the first and fourth quarters of each calendar year – the winter months. Since 2010, the UK’s highest wind speed average was recorded in the first quarter of 2020, at 11.5 knots. During this period, 2010 was the only year that had the greatest wind speeds outside the winter months, with an average of 8.4 knots in the third quarter. In 2024, wind speeds ranged between a low of 7.9 knots in the third quarter and 9.4 knots in the first quarter. With few exceptions, UK wind speeds generally average at least eight knots annually. 2015 marked the year with the highest average wind speed in the UK (since the beginning of the reporting period in 2001), reaching an average of 9.4 knots. Wind power The UK has some of the best wind conditions in Europe for wind power. By 2023, there were 39 offshore wind farms operating across the UK, by far the most in Europe. Meanwhile, offshore wind power additions in the UK reached 1.14 gigawatts that same year. Quarterly rainfall Another weather phenomenon, UK rainfall also tends to be heaviest in the winter months. The average rainfall in the second quarter of 2024 was 254.5 millimeters, with figures in 2011 spiking to 738.6 millimeters. That year, precipitation levels in some parts of Scotland were the highest in one hundred years, while southern parts of England kept remarkably dry.

This statistic shows cities in the United States with the highest average wind speeds. In San Francisco the average wind speed in 2011 was 10.6 miles per hour. In Chicago, Illinois the average wind speed was 10.3 miles per hour.

Data harvested from Environment Statistics of Nepal 2019, published by Central Bureau Of Statistics.

What does the data show?

The dataset is derived from projections of seasonal mean wind speeds from UKCP18 which are averaged to produce values for the 1981-2000 baseline and two warming levels: 2.0°C and 4.0°C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) period. All wind speeds have units of metres per second (m / s). These data enable users to compare future seasonal mean wind speeds to those of the baseline period.

What is a warming level and why are they used?

The wind speeds were calculated from the UKCP18 local climate projections which used a high emissions scenario (RCP 8.5) where greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow. Instead of considering future climate change during specific time periods (e.g., decades) for this scenario, the dataset is calculated at two levels of global warming relative to the pre-industrial (1850-1900) period. The world has already warmed by around 1.1°C (between 1850–1900 and 2011–2020), so this dataset allows for the exploration of greater levels of warming.

The global warming levels available in this dataset are 2°C and 4°C in line with recommendations in the third UK Climate Risk Assessment. The data at each warming level were calculated using 20 year periods over which the average warming was equal to 2°C and 4°C. The exact time period will be different for different model ensemble members. To calculate the seasonal mean wind speeds, an average is taken across the 20 year period. Therefore, the seasonal wind speeds represent those for a given level of warming.

We cannot provide a precise likelihood for particular emission scenarios being followed in the real world in the future. However, we do note that RCP8.5 corresponds to emissions considerably above those expected under current international policy agreements. The results are also expressed for several global warming levels because we do not yet know which level will be reached in the real climate; the warming level reached will depend on future greenhouse emission choices and the sensitivity of the climate system, which is uncertain. Estimates based on the assumption of current international agreements on greenhouse gas emissions suggest a median warming level in the region of 2.4-2.8°C, but it could either be higher or lower than this level.

What are the naming conventions and how do I explore the data?

The columns (fields) correspond to each global warming level and two baselines. They are named 'windspeed' (Wind Speed), the season, warming level or baseline, and ‘upper’ ‘median’ or ‘lower’ as per the description below. For example, ‘windspeed winter 2.0 median’ is the median winter wind speed for the 2°C projection. Decimal points are included in field aliases but not field names; e.g., ‘windspeed winter 2.0 median’ is ‘ws_winter_20_median’.

To understand how to explore the data, see this page: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/457e7a2bc73e40b089fac0e47c63a578

What do the ‘median’, ‘upper’, and ‘lower’ values mean?

Climate models are numerical representations of the climate system. To capture uncertainty in projections for the future, an ensemble, or group, of climate models are run. Each ensemble member has slightly different starting conditions or model set-ups. Considering all of the model outcomes gives users a range of plausible conditions which could occur in the future.

For this dataset, the model projections consist of 12 separate ensemble members. To select which ensemble members to use, seasonal mean wind speeds were calculated for each ensemble member and then ranked in order from lowest to highest for each location.

The ‘lower’ fields are the second lowest ranked ensemble member. The ‘upper’ fields are the second highest ranked ensemble member. The ‘median’ field is the central value of the ensemble.

This gives a median value, and a spread of the ensemble members indicating the range of possible outcomes in the projections. This spread of outputs can be used to infer the uncertainty in the projections. The larger the difference between the lower and upper fields, the greater the uncertainty.

‘Lower’, ‘median’ and ‘upper’ are also given for the baseline periods as these values also come from the model that was used to produce the projections. This allows a fair comparison between the model projections and recent past.

Data source

The seasonal mean wind speeds were calculated from daily values of wind speeds generated from the UKCP Local climate projections; they are one of the standard UKCP18 products. These projections were created with a 2.2km convection-permitting climate model. To aid comparison with other models and UK-based datasets, the UKCP Local model data were aggregated to a 5km grid on the British National grid; the 5km data were processed to generate the seasonal mean wind speeds.

Useful links

Further information on the UK Climate Projections (UKCP). Further information on understanding climate data within the Met Office Climate Data Portal.

The average mean wind speed in Tokyo, Japan amounted to 2.7 meters per second in 2022. Figures peaked in 2013, reaching 3.1 meters per second. In 2022, the monthly mean wind speed in Tokyo was highest in between July and August.

Average Wind Speeds 2001 to 2010 -- 75m above ground level. Published by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Mean average wind speeds in metres per second (m/s) at 75m above ground level. These datasets cover the geographic land area of Ireland and Irish Internal Waters. Data compilation was completed in 2013, by analysing measurements taken during 2001--2010.

Zipped collections of shapefiles are available in two spatial reference or coordinate systems:
1) Irish Transverse Mercator (ITM, EPSG:2157)
2) WGS 84 Web Mercator (EPSG:3857)

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) offers the same data in its Wind Atlas, a digital map of Ireland's wind energy resource (http://gis.seai.ie/wind). SEAI's wind speed datasets assist wind energy planners, developers and policy makers....

Wind speed raster file over the territory of Afghanistan. Aggregated annual average values. Spatial resolution 5km.

The UK mean wind data contain the mean wind speed and direction, and the direction, speed and time of the maximum gust, all during 1 or more hours, ending at the stated time and date. The data were collected by observation stations operated by the Met Office across the UK and transmitted within the following message types: SYNOP, HCM, AWSHRLY, DLY3208, HWNDAUTO and HWND6910. The data spans from 1949 to 2022.

This version supersedes the previous version of this dataset and a change log is available in the archive, and in the linked documentation for this record, detailing the differences between this version and the previous version. The change logs detail new, replaced and removed data. These include the addition of data for calendar year 2022.

For further details on observing practice, including measurement accuracies for the message types, see relevant sections of the MIDAS User Guide linked from this record (e.g. section 3.3 details the wind network in the UK, section 5.5 covers wind measurements in general and section 4 details message type information).

This dataset is part of the Midas-open dataset collection made available by the Met Office under the UK Open Government Licence, containing only UK mainland land surface observations owned or operated by the Met Office. It is a subset of the fuller, restricted Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS) Land and Marine Surface Stations dataset, also available through the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis - see the related dataset section on this record.

These data represent the average monthly wind speed and direction at the surface of the ocean. Source data includes values from January 1, 1979, to December 31, 2010, at hourly temporal resolution, with a spatial resolution of 0.313 degrees latitude x 0.312 degrees longitude. Values for wind speed are in meters per second and wind direction in degrees from True North.

Average Wind Speeds (meters per second) published in Renewable Energy Strategy for County Roscommon as part of County Development Plan 2014 - 2020.

These data depict the predicted mean annual wind speed in meters per second at 100 meters elevation above sea level. The source data is from 2007 through 2013, and is based on a 2 km sample resolution. The source data was generalized and transformed into a polygon format for planning purposes.

Seasonal and annual multi-model ensembles of projected change (also known as anomalies) in surface wind speed based on an ensemble of twenty-nine Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global climate models are available for 1900-2100. Projected change in wind speed is with respect to the reference period of 1986-2005 and expressed as a percentage (%). The 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 95th percentiles of the ensemble of wind speed change are available for the historical time period, 1900-2005, and for emission scenarios, RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, for 2006-2100. Twenty-year average changes in wind speed (%) for four time periods (2021-2040; 2041-2060; 2061-2080; 2081-2100), with respect to the reference period of 1986-2005, for RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 are also available in a range of formats. The median projected change across the ensemble of CMIP5 climate models is provided. Note: Projections among climate models can vary because of differences in their underlying representation of earth system processes. Thus, the use of a multi-model ensemble approach has been demonstrated in recent scientific literature to likely provide better projected climate change information.

Average Wind Speeds 2001 to 2010 -- 50m above ground level. Published by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Mean average wind speeds in metres per second (m/s) at 50m above ground level. These datasets cover the geographic land area of Ireland and Irish Internal Waters. Data compilation was completed in 2013, by analysing measurements taken during 2001--2010.

Zipped collections of shapefiles are available in two spatial reference or coordinate systems:
1) Irish Transverse Mercator (ITM, EPSG:2157)
2) WGS 84 Web Mercator (EPSG:3857)

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) offers the same data in its Wind Atlas, a digital map of Ireland's wind energy resource (http://gis.seai.ie/wind). SEAI's wind speed datasets assist wind energy planners, developers and policy makers....

In January 2025, the average wind speed was 2.3 knots below the long-term mean (from 2002 to 2021). The largest deviation occurred in February 2020, when winds increased by 4.2 knots compared to the average speed.