Assessment of TRMM 3B43 product for drought monitoring in Singapore

Drought is one of the most hazardous natural disasters for human beings and the environment. Using only rain gauge is insufficient to monitor the drought pattern effectively as it impacts large areas. This situation is more critical on small island countries, with limited rain gauges for monitoring drought pattern over the ocean regions. This study aims to assess the capability of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B43 product in monitoring drought in Singapore from 1998 to 2014. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) at various time-scales is used for identifying drought patterns. Results show moderate to good correlations between TMPA- 3B43 and rain gauges in the SPI estimations. Besides that, TMPA-3B43 exhibits a similar temporal drought behavior as the rain gauges. These findings indicate the TMPA 3B43 product as a very useful tool to study drought pattern over Singapore.