Central African Republic: Subnational Rainfall Indicators and Forecasts

Supplying dekadal rainfall indicators for the Central African Republic, aggregated by subnational administrative units using WFP Pcode references. Produced by the World Food Programme, it integrates CHIRPS v2 satellite imagery with CHIRPS-GEFS forecasts to provide 10-day, 1-month, and 3-month precipitation metrics. The data is updated approximately every five days to transition from forecasts to final observations.

Use Cases

• Assessing drought severity by monitoring the 3-month rainfall anomaly percentage (r3q) across administrative zones
• Comparing current 10-day rainfall (rfh) against long-term averages (rfh_avg) to identify early-season planting risks
• Evaluating forecast reliability by comparing records labeled as 'forecast' in the type column against subsequent 'final' observations

Strengths

• 9 distinct rainfall indicators including rolling aggregations and anomalies
• Standardized WFP Pcode references for administrative units
• Includes pixel count (n_pixels) to indicate the spatial data density used for each subnational aggregate

Limitations

• Satellite-derived CHIRPS data may deviate from local rain gauge measurements
• Recent data entries are subject to revision as they transition from forecast to final status

Provenance

Source

World Food Programme (WFP)

Collection Method

Satellite imagery aggregation (CHIRPS) and short-term forecasting (CHIRPS-GEFS)

Freshness

High; updated six times per month according to a fixed dekadal schedule.

Geography

Central African Republic