“Our ability to forecast the rains would’ve been the envy of our agrarian ancestors. It’s given us an unprecedented ability to take advantage of good growing seasons and prepare for tough times. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have just released the latest version of one of the world’s most widely used rainfall data products, the Climate Hazards Center Infrared Precipitation with Stations, or “CHIRPS.” The improvements in CHIRPS v3 appear in a new paper published in the Nature journal Scientific Data. The CHIRPS dataset provides high-resolution, near-real-time precipitation data by combining satellite observations with ground station measurements. This produces consistent, long-term records of precipitation. It’s an especially important tool for the The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), a leading provider of early warning and analysis on acute food insecurity across the globe. “People around the world rely on CHIRPS data to monitor weather events, track rainfall and inform critical decisions,” said Chris Funk, director of UCSB’s Climate Hazards Center, which developed and maintains the dataset. “We’ve significantly enhanced CHIRPS v3 to paint a more accurate picture of both drought and flood risk.”