Any satellites capable of deriving solar radiation measurements can be and often are used to derive various cloud products. In the past, the AVHRR has been used to derive cloud cover and cloud types. However, due to the high temporal variability of cloud and the relatively low temporal coverage of AVHRR overpasses, most cloud based studies have used geostationary satellites to derive their cloud products (Schmidt et al., 2001; Schmertz et al., 2002). Large-scale estimates of cloud cover can be acquired from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) derived from AVHRR data (isccp.giss.nasa.gov/). The spatial resolution of the products ranges between 30 and 280 km. The temporal resolution ranges from 3 h to monthly and yearly mean climatologies. However, not all years have been processed to date. The current climatology does not yet integrate yet the time-frame 1999–2003.