Cal-Adapt: Analytics Engine | Guidance

Guidance documentation for the Cal-Adapt: Analytics Engine, a cloud-based climate data platform developed for California's energy sector. This document covers best practices for working with downscaled CMIP6 climate projections in planning and decision-making contexts, including guidance on selecting datasets and downscaling methods, choosing between time-based and Global Warming Level approaches, interpreting uncertainty, and applying climate data across energy sector applications. Also includes topic-specific guidance on heat metrics and census tracts. Developed in support of California's Fifth Climate Change Assessment and funded by the California Energy Commission through the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Program (Grants EPC-20-007 and EPC-23-024). This document is living and may be updated as methods and best practices evolve. The Analytics Engine website (analytics.cal-adapt.org) is the primary source for the most current guidance.