The activities of the international precipitation working group

The International Precipitation Working Group (IPWG) is a permanent International Science Working Group (ISWG) of the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS), co-sponsored by CGMS and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The IPWG provides a focal point and forum for the international scientific community to address the issues and challenges of satellite-based quantitative precipitation retrievals, and for the operational agencies to access and make use of precipitation products. Through partnerships and biennial meetings, the group supports the exchange of information on techniques for retrieving and measuring precipitation and for enhancing the impact of space-borne precipitation retrievals in numerical weather and hydrometeorological prediction and climate studies. The group furthers the refinement of current estimation techniques and the development of new methodologies for improved global precipitation measurements, together with the validation of the derived precipitation products with ground-based precipitation measurements. The IPWG identifies critical issues, provides recommendations to the CGMS and supports upcoming precipitation-oriented missions. Training activities on precipitation retrieval from space are also part of the IPWG mandate in cooperation with WMO and other bodies.