Evaluating Precipitation Estimates from Rfe2.0, Chrips Data in Semi-Arid Regions Case Study Tekeze-Atbra Sub-Basin in Sudan

Abstract

High quality precipitation data are critical to water resource management in particular for arid regions where rainfall controls important hydrological process and water resources. This research assesses the reliability of two satellite-based precipitation products, Rainfall Estimate- RFE 2.0 and Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Station data -CHIRPS in Tekeze-Atbara sub-basin, Sudan; which is a semi-arid region with limited rain gauge measurements. We then evaluate the effectiveness of the two data sources by comparing their measured monthly accumulation, rainfall rates, and seasonal variations with observational data from local rain gauges between January 2015 and December 2020. Qualitative assessments of accuracy are determined using Statistical measures including Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Bias Error (MBE), Correlation coefficients (R²). The study shows that, both RFE 2.0, and CHIRPS have high accuracy on a monthly scale with RFE 2.0 slightly outperforming CHIRPS in terms of accuracy in estimating extreme rainfall events on a seasonal scale. This evaluation provides insights on best-suited uses of each dataset for identifying patterns of precipitation within the Tekeze-Atbara sub-basin and offers implications for water resource management, flood hazard mapping, and agricultural planning in data-deficit semi-arid areas.