CMIP & SSP Scenarios

Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) is a collaborative project of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). It is designed to improve our understanding of climate change. The models are developed in phases to foster climate model improvements and to support national and international assessments of climate change. More recent phases include more realistic scenarios of climate forcing for historical and future conditions. CMIP6 supports the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments, providing essential data for understanding future climate scenarios using SSPs.

CMIP6 Model Forcing Comparison

CMIP6 Rainfall Comparison Tool

Simple view of historical forcing signals and SSP projections from CMIP6 models.

CMIP6 model

SSP scenario

SSP model

Time windows

Historical: 1950-2014

Projections: 2015-2100

Historical Forcing Comparison

Historical

GHG

Aerosol

CMIP6 Quick Statistics

Historical + IMD

Start year

1950

End year

2014

Reference

IMD baseline

Forcing

Historical

Baseline

Observed

SSP Projection

Start year

2015

End year

2100

Current scenario

SSP245

Dataset

CMIP6

Horizon

Long-term

What are you seeing?

Compare how each CMIP6 model represents historical forcing pathways against the IMD baseline.

Why it matters

Scenario-level differences (SSP245, SSP370, SSP585) help estimate future rainfall risks and planning needs.

SSP Projection Chart

What are SSPs in CMIP?

Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) are future scenarios that combine human societal development with greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on climate change. For climate variables like rainfall, SSP1-1.9, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5 represent different levels of greenhouse gas concentrations and their influence on future rainfall patterns.

SSP1-1.9: Low emission scenario (sustainable pathway)

SSP2-4.5: Intermediate emission scenario (middle-of-the-road)