How much it rained, radar plus microwave (GPM, monthly)
What it measures. Monthly global rainfall estimates that merge two views of precipitation into one product, reported in quarter-degree grid squares.
How it's made. Created by combining measurements from the GPM satellite's microwave imager and its dual-frequency precipitation radar, averaged over each month.
How & where you'd use it. Useful for tracking global rainfall patterns, validating weather and climate models, and studying water cycles; a matching version exists for the older TRMM era.
What's measured
Coverage & cadence
- Time span2014-03-08 → ongoing
- Measured byGPM (DPR, GMI)
- Processing levelLevel 3
- Spatial extent-180, -67, 180, 67
- 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 07 is the current version of the data set. Older versions will no longer be available and have been superseded by Version 07. This is a precipitation product created from the combination of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) instruments. Similar product, using the GPM algorithm, has been created for the TRMM epoch (December 1997 - April 2015), and can be found under the name GPM_3CMB_TRMM
Get the data
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc") # free Earthdata Login
results = earthaccess.search_data(
short_name="GPM_3CMB",
version="07",
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. Official links
- Access the data via HTTPS GET DATA
- Access the data via the OPeNDAP protocol. USE SERVICE API
- Use the Earthdata Search to find and retrieve data sets across multiple data centers. GET DATA
- README Document VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD) VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- FILE SPECIFICATION DOCUMENT VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- Instrument Description VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- GPM and partner sensors anomalous events VIEW RELATED INFORMATION