GPM IMERG: Half-Hourly Global Precipitation Estimates at 0.1-Degree Resolution

Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) provide unified global precipitation estimates. The data is produced by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center using a multi-satellite algorithm that merges passive microwave and infrared observations into half-hourly fields on a 0.1°x0.1° grid. Version 07B is the current version, with data last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Calibrating and validating regional climate models based on gridded, multi-satellite precipitation estimates.
• Analyzing extreme weather events and precipitation trends using half-hourly temporal resolution.
• Studying global hydrological cycles based on data intercalibrated with radar and gauge-corrected products.
• Developing nowcasting or short-term forecasting algorithms using the morphing and Kalman filter methodology described.

Strengths

• Provides half-hourly temporal resolution, which is high for global precipitation data.
• Offers a fine spatial resolution of 0.1°x0.1° (approximately 10x10 km).
• Uses a unified algorithm merging multiple satellite sensors and is intercalibrated with radar and gauge-adjusted products.
• Data is produced and maintained by NASA, an authoritative source for Earth science data.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale ML projects.
• The description is highly technical; understanding the data's structure and biases requires domain expertise.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)

Collection Method

Generated by the IMERG algorithm, which merges precipitation estimates from the GPM constellation of passive microwave sensors and infrared data using a Morphing-Kalman Filter scheme.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 01:57:26.141494; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage