Satgé Frédéric auteur aut IRD Defrance Dimitri auteur aut IRD Sultan Benjamin auteur aut IRD Bonnet Marie-Paule auteur aut IRD Seyler Frédérique auteur aut IRD Rouché Nathalie auteur aut IRD Pierron F. auteur aut IRD Paturel Jean-Emmanuel auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access This study aims reporting on 23 gridded precipitation datasets (P-datasets) reliability across West Africa through direct comparisons with rain gauges measurement at the daily and monthly time scales over a 4 years period (2000-2003). All P-datasets reliability vary in space and time. The most efficient P-dataset in term of Kling-Gupta Efficiency (KGE) changes at the local scale and the P-dataset performance is sensitive to seasonal effects. Satellite-based P-datasets performed better during the wet than the dry season whereas the opposite is observed for reanalysis P-datasets. The best overall performance was obtained for MSWEP v.2.2 and CHIRPS v.2 for daily and monthly time-step, respectively. Part of the differences in P-dataset performance at daily and monthly time step comes from the time step used to proceed the gauges adjustment (Le day or month) and from a mismatch between gauge and satellite reporting times. In comparison to the others P-datasets, TMPA-Adj v.7 reliability is stable and reach the second highest KGE value at both daily and monthly time step. Reanalysis P-datasets (WFDEI, MERRA-2, JRA-55, ERA-Interim) present among the lowest statistical scores at the daily time step, which drastically increased at the monthly time step for WFDEI and MERRA-2. The non-adjusted P-datasets were the less efficient, but, their near-real time availability should be helpful for risk forecast studies (i.e. GSMaP-RT v.6). The results of this study give important elements to select the most adapted P-dataset for specific application across West Africa. specialized Precipitation datasets Reliability West Africa AFRIQUE DE L'OUEST 062 581 124412 [19 ] 2020 0022-1694 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010077958 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.124412 0022-1694 [F B010077958] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010077958 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers20-04/010077958.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2020-05-18 2025-02-24 fdi:010077958 fre