LAND-SURFACE TEMPERATURES - IS THE NETWORK GOOD ENOUGH

The land surface air temperature record is shown to be adequate for mo nitoring hemispheric and global scale temperatures. This is only one o f a myriad of uses to which station temperatures can be put. For many of the other uses the record is inadequate, but could easily be improv ed by gaining access to much more data that is collected by all the co untries of the world, but rot passed on internationally. The situation affects other fields measured at the surface, notably precipitation a nd mean-sea-level pressure.