Partnership

This portal is a collaboration between the Botswana Department of Meteorological Services (BDMS) and the Research in Applied Meteorology - Physics Laboratory (RAMP Lab) at the University of Botswana. BDMS provides the operational station observation network and meteorological expertise; UB RAMP Lab develops and maintains the blending algorithm, data pipeline, and this web portal. The underlying CHIRPS and CHIRPS-GEFS satellite rainfall datasets are produced by the UCSB Climate Hazards Center (CHC), a long-standing partner in the FEWS NET science network whose datasets and methods anchor much of the operational rainfall monitoring across Southern Africa.

Data & Methodology

Products are generated on a dekadal (10-day) basis using a blending procedure that combines CHIRPS v3.0 satellite-derived rainfall estimates (produced by the UCSB Climate Hazards Center) with BDMS ground station observations via the BASIICS blending algorithm. Station data provide local ground-truth corrections to the satellite estimates, producing a spatially continuous, station-corrected rainfall field that is more accurate than either source alone. This convergence-of-evidence approach - combining satellite estimates with in-situ station observations to produce decision-relevant rainfall fields - aligns with the operational monitoring science used across CHC and FEWS NET regional programmes, adapted here for Botswana with BDMS station data.

From this blended base product, the pipeline derives a full suite of monitoring outputs: rainfall totals, anomalies, percentage of long-term mean, standardised precipitation index (SPI), and ranked and percentile fields. Products are accumulated across multiple time windows - dekadal, monthly, 2-month, 3-month, and full seasonal - and published as pre-rendered maps (PNG) and analysis-ready rasters (GeoTIFF). Zonal statistics for administrative units are extracted and stored in a database to power the time-series charts.

Products

Data Sources

• CHIRPS v3.0 - Climate Hazards Center InfraRed Precipitation with Stations, produced by the UCSB Climate Hazards Center (CHC).
• BDMS station network - Surface rainfall observations from the Botswana Department of Meteorological Services synoptic and agrometeorological station network.
• CHIRPS-GEFS - Near-real-time CHIRPS blended with NOAA Global Ensemble Forecast System precipitation forecasts, produced by the UCSB Climate Hazards Center. Used to fill the current incomplete dekad.

Acknowledgements

CHIRPS and CHIRPS-GEFS - the satellite rainfall products that anchor this portal - are produced and maintained by the UCSB Climate Hazards Center (CHC), a long-standing partner in the FEWS NET science network. The methodology applied here builds on the broader CHIRPS-based monitoring science developed by CHC and used operationally across FEWS NET regions, adapted for Botswana with BDMS station data. Regional rainfall monitoring across Southern Africa is led by the SADC Climate Services Centre; this portal provides a country-scale, station-corrected complement focused specifically on Botswana.