A Global Gridded Dataset of the Timing and Intensity of the Rainy and Dry Seasons

Monsoonal regions experience well define wet and dry seasons. The timing and intensity of the wet and dry seasons have important implications to several sectors of society related to water resource management, such as agriculture (global food security), energy generation (water and energy), human health and property loss (landslides, floods, water borne diseases, and forest fires). The objective of this work is to present a global gridded dataset containing the onset and end dates of the wet season as well as the intensity (accumulated precipitation) and the duration of the wet and dry seasons. The methodology for detection of the characteristics of the rainy season is based solely on precipitation data. The dataset was developed from multiple precipitation datasets and, therefore, shares the spatial resolution, temporal range, and limitations of the original precipitation datasets. The characteristics of the rainy and dry seasons are consistent across precipitation datasets. However, there is more agreement among the datasets over monsoonal regions than over non-monsoonal regions. The Rainy and Dry Seasons (RADS) dataset is available to the public. This is the first free public dataset of the characteristics of the rainy and dry seasons created using a consistent methodology across the globe, including all major monsoonal regions.