Evaluation of different Precipitation Products with IMD dataset emphasizing on Hydrological Modelling.

Numerous reanalysis products have been released worldwide. Indeed, the latest generation of reanalysis exhibit less bias and inaccuracy due to significant advancements in model physics and data assimilation methodologies. The applicability of these data sets for various parts of the world must be carefully examined. Therefore, numerous initiatives have been conducted to investigate the validity of reanalysis on a global and regional basis. Reanalysis products have been used to examine a range of hydrological concerns, such as floods, droughts, and the balance of energy and water, among others. In this study, we investigate how well various reanalysis products simulate the spatiotemporal precipitation patterns over India. We have collected precipitation data from 1980 to 2021 for pan India using different reanalysis precipitation products such as ERA5 (Fifth generation of ECMWF global atmospheric reanalysis), CFSR (Climate Forecast System Reanalysis), MERRA2 (Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Application, version-2), JRA55 (Japanese global atmospheric reanalysis project), MSWX (Multi-Source Weather) and IMD (India Meteorological Department) dataset. Comparison of different precipitation reanalysis products with the IMD dataset using various descriptive and categorial indices showed that ERA5 was a better representative of IMD data than other reanalysis products. We infer that ERA5 can be utilized in various climatic studies and hydrological modelling for those areas or river basins having no or missing data.