WDXX and WDXXR Precipitation Concentration Indices from ERA5 Reanalysis (1980-2024)

This dataset contains precipitation concentration indices calculated from ERA5 daily precipitation reanalysis data for the period 1980-2024. The dataset includes two novel types of indices that characterize different aspects of precipitation patterns. The WDXX indices (standard concentration) measure the number of wettest days needed to accumulate a given percentage of annual precipitation (WD25, WD50, WD75), regardless of when these days occur during the year. The WDXXR indices (chronological clustering) measure the number of consecutive days needed to accumulate a given percentage of annual precipitation (WD25R, WD50R, WD75R), considering the temporal sequence of precipitation events. This distinction allows researchers to differentiate between intensity-based concentration (WDXX) and temporal clustering patterns (WDXXR), providing complementary insights into precipitation behavior. The dataset consists of two NetCDF files: wdxx_1980_2024.nc (56 MB) containing standard concentration indices and wdxxr_1980_2024.nc (90 MB) containing chronological clustering indices. Both files provide global coverage at 0.25° × 0.25° spatial resolution (~28 km at equator) spanning from 90°N to 90°S and 180°W to 180°E, with annual values for the 45-year period from 1980 to 2024. The data are derived from high-quality ERA5 reanalysis precipitation data obtained from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Climate Data Store, using a wet day threshold of 1.0 mm/day and concentration curve analysis methodology. To facilitate reproducibility and ease of use, this package includes comprehensive example Python scripts demonstrating data loading, spatial visualization, temporal analysis, comparison between WDXX and WDXXR indices, and statistical analysis. Sample outputs from these scripts are also provided, showing example visualizations and statistical summaries for land-only analysis. Additionally, a snapshot of all computational codes used to generate these indices is included as github_codes.zip, though users are encouraged to visit the live GitHub repository (https://github.com/SauravBhattarai19/wdxx-precipitation-indices) for the most up-to-date versions of the code, which may contain improvements and bug fixes beyond this Zenodo snapshot. This dataset is particularly valuable for climate change impact assessment, extreme precipitation pattern analysis, hydrological modeling, water resource management, and climate variability studies. The novel WDXXR indices provide unique insights into how precipitation events cluster temporally, complementing traditional intensity-based metrics and enabling more comprehensive characterization of precipitation regimes. The multi-threshold approach (25%, 50%, 75%) allows researchers to examine precipitation concentration at different accumulation levels, supporting diverse research applications from local-scale water resource planning to global climate trend analysis.