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	Coverage of this dataset spans July 1983 to June 1991.
	The animation features of the Earth Observatory are currently unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience. To view the full temporal span of this dataset, please view the Cloud Fraction monthly holdings.

Product description: Cloud fraction represents the portion of sky in each pixel that is covered by clouds. Satellites can measure cloud fraction over the entire atmosphere and for all types of clouds. Since most clouds reflect incoming sunlight very well and trap heat escaping from the Earth's surface, cloud fraction is an important parameter in studies of our planet's radiant energy budget. (Data from International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project [ISCCP]).

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