What is TAMSAT?

TAMSAT* enhances the capacity of African meteorological agencies and other organisations by providing and supporting the use of satellite-based rainfall estimates, soil moisture estimates and forecasts, and related data products. 

TAMSAT produces daily rainfall estimates for all of Africa at 0.0375° x 0.0375° degrees, as well as soil moisture estimates and forecasts (out to 160 days) for all of Africa at 0.25° x 0.25°degrees. The TAMSAT rainfall and soil moisture archives span 1983 to the delayed present. The longevity of these datasets makes them especially suitable for risk assessment. Applications of the data include famine early warning, drought insurance and agricultural decision support. 

TAMSAT rainfall and soil moisture estimates are issued on the 1st, 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, and 26th of the month.  All TAMSAT data are released for operational, research and commercial use under a creative commons license.

TAMSAT was established by the University of Reading in 1977. Over the past decade, the group has developed close collaborations with the Climate Division of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) and the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) to extend the range of climate services it provides. These collaborations have supported the development of new datasets and other products, including rainfall estimate uncertainties, full column soil moisture, and probabilistic forecasts of drought.

A quick guide to using TAMSAT rainfall and soil moisture estimates can be found here.

*TAMSAT stands for Tropical Applications of Meteorology using SATellite data and ground-based observations.

🇫🇷 Pour soutenir l'objectif de TAMSAT d'améliorer la capacité en Afrique à utiliser les données dérivées des satellites pour les services climatiques, nous avons mis à disposition certains de nos principaux documents en français.