Comparison of Reanalysis and Observational Precipitation Datasets Including ERA5 and WFDE5

Precipitation is a key component of the hydrological cycle and one most important variables in weather climate studies. Accurate reliable precipitation data are crucial for determining trends variability. In this study, eleven different datasets compared, six reanalysis five observational datasets, including ERA5 WFDE5 from ECMWF family, to quantify differences between widely used identify their particular strengths shortcomings. The comparisons focused on common time period 1983 through 2016 monthly, seasonal, inter-annual times scales regions representing regimes, i.e., Tropics, Pacific Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), Central Europe, South Asian Monsoon region. For analysis, satellite-gauge Global Climatology Project (GPCP-SG) as reference. comparison shows that ERA5-Land clear improvement over ERA-Interim show cases smaller biases than other (e.g., around 13% high bias Tropics compared 17% MERRA-2 36% JRA-55). agrees well with observations Europe region but underestimates very low rates Tropics. particular, tropical ocean remains challenging reanalyses three out four products overestimating Atlantic Indian Ocean.