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In CopernicusClimate: Search Download and Handle Data from Copernicus Climate Data Service

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Locating a dataset

You could use the R functions cds_search_datasets() and cds_list_datasets() to look for Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) data. If you prefer using a graphical user interface, you can use the website to find a suitable dataset: https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/datasets.

The screen recording below shows how to look for a dataset on the website, and then copy the request code for that dataset to the clipboard. Note this recording is only showing the essentials, and no specific subsetting selections are made, causing the actual request to be incomplete. But the principle remains the same.

Downloading the dataset

Once the request code is on your system's clipboard, you can go to your R console and download the dataset, by first submitting the request with cds_submit_job(). By omitting the dataset argument, the function will automatically look for a request on the clipboard. After the request has been processed, you can download the dataset with cds_download_jobs(). All of this is illustrated in the screen recording below.

You can also arrange your workflow completely in R, without using a web browser. For more details on this workflow check out vignette("download").

Translation

Under the hood of all this is the function cds_python_to_r(). It is used to translate request code from the website to a request that can be handled by this R package. In essence it extracts all relevant information from the Python codes and turns it into a named list.

CopernicusClimate documentation built on Jan. 8, 2026, 1:08 a.m.