Bulgaria Subnational Rainfall: Dekadal Indicators and CHIRPS Forecasts

WFP provides dekadal rainfall indicators for Bulgaria's subnational administrative units derived from CHIRPS v2 satellite imagery and CHIRPS-GEFS forecasts. The data tracks 10-day, 1-month, and 3-month rainfall totals alongside long-term averages and percentage anomalies.

Use Cases

• Drought monitoring using the 3-month rainfall anomaly percentage (r3q)
• Seasonal trend analysis by comparing current rainfall (rfh) against long-term averages (rfh_avg)
• Short-term agricultural planning using CHIRPS-GEFS forecasts identified in the type column

Strengths

• Includes long-term averages for 10-day, 1-month, and 3-month periods
• Standardized subnational mapping using WFP Pcode references
• Transparency on data source quality via the n_pixels column

Limitations

• Satellite-derived estimates may vary from local rain gauge data
• Temporal overlap as forecasts are replaced by preliminary and then final observations

Provenance

Source

World Food Programme (WFP) via CHIRPS and CHIRPS-GEFS

Collection Method

Satellite imagery (CHIRPS v2) and station data aggregation

Freshness

Updated dekadally (every 10 days) with multiple revisions per period.

Geography

Bulgaria