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Full catalog/GPCPMON
GPCPMON·v3.2·dataset

How much it rained, monthly worldwide (GPCP, 0.5 deg)

GPCP Precipitation Level 3 Monthly 0.5-Degree V3.2 (GPCPMON) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 3
In plain English

What it measures. How much rain and snow fell each month across the whole world, mapped on a half-degree grid as part of a long, consistent precipitation record.

How it's made. A blended product that merges many satellite estimates with ground rain-gauge data, combining sources like microwave and infrared sensors and weather stations.

How & where you'd use it. Used for studying the global water cycle, long-term climate trends, and regional rainfall patterns. Note this version has been superseded by a newer one.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATIONATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › PRECIPITATION RATE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1983-01-01 → 2023-12-31
  • Measured byDMSP (SSMIS, SSM/I) · NOAA POES (TOVS) · Aqua (AIRS) · GOES (GOES-15 Imager, GOES-16 Imager) · METEOSAT (VISSR-METEOSAT) · GMS (VISSR-GMS) · MTSAT (MTSAT 1R Imager, MTSAT 2 Imager) · Himawari-8 (AHI) · WEATHER STATIONS (RAIN GAUGES)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

Version 3.2 has been superseded by Version 3.3 (10.5067/MEASURES/GPCP/DATA306). The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) is the precipitation component of an internationally coordinated set of (mainly) satellite-based global products dealing with the Earth's water and energy cycles, under the auspices of the Global Water and Energy Experiment (GEWEX) Data and Assessment Panel (GDAP) of the World Climate Research Program. As the follow on to the GPCP Version 2.X products, GPCP Version 3 (GPCP V3.2) seeks to continue the long, homogeneous precipitation record using modern merging techniques and input data sets. The GPCPV3 suite currently consists the 0.5-degree monthly and daily products. A follow-on 0.1-degree 3-hourly is expected. All GPCPV3 products will be internally consistent. The monthly product spans 1983 - 2020. Inputs consist of the GPROF SSMI/SSMIS orbit files that are used to calibrate the PERSIANN-CDR IR-based precipitation in the span 60°N-S, which are in turn calibrated to the monthly 2.5-degree METH product. The METH-GPROF-adjusted PERSIANN-CDR IR estimates are then climatologically adjusted to the blended TCC/MCTG. Outside of 58°N-S, TOVS/AIRS estimates, adjusted climatologically to the MCTG, are used. The PERSIANN-CDR / TOVS/AIRS estimates are then merged in the region 35°N-S-58°N-S, which are then merged with GPCC gauge analyses over land to obtain the final product. In addition to the final precipitation field, ancillary precipitation and error estimates are provided.

Get the data

gpcpmon_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="GPCPMON",
    version="3.2",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from GES_DISC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.