ABSTRACT

Precipitation is an important weather variable affecting our daily lives. Each year, severe droughts and floods happen around the world and often cause heavy property damages and human fatalities (Obasi 1994). An example is the tropical cyclone Nargis that made a landfall in Burma on May 2, 2008, causing catastrophic destruction and claiming at least 138,000 lives (https://www.unisdr.org/archive/8742). Accurate measurement and prediction of precipitation in both short and long terms can greatly help hazard preparedness and mitigation efforts. However, precipitation is difficult to measure in data sparse oceans, continents, and remote regions, such as Africa, due to the lack of rain gauge and ground radar networks, creating an obstacle for monitoring applications and forecasting verification. Satellite remote sensing takes an important role to measure precipitation from space on a global scale (Special Issue on TRMM 2000) and there have been many ongoing activities especially in the following areas: product development, product uncertainty, research using precipitation products, and applications.