Calculate the number of model grid cells covering a specific country What is the best method of calculating the number of model grid cells (e.g. of climate models) covering a specific country? For example, if I wanted to know how many 2 degree grid cells are in the United Kingdom, how would I go about it? At present I use the mapping toolbox in matlab and add a 2 degree grid and calculate manually. Is there a better way of doing this? Any advice is appreciated.
Here is a simple 'back of the napkin' idea for Python:


Get a shapefile of the borders and use Python to create a polygon of the borders.
Use mpl_toolkits to convert the climate model to X and Y coordinates
Check to see if the model grid points are within the Polygon