[Figure 3]
However, correlation values between GPCC and CRU fluctuated between 0.40 and 0.80 in the low elevation areas of the Cuvette central (cf. Fig. 1b) during the period (Fig. 2a). The considerable change in correlation values around the Cuvette central during the different climatological periods can be attributed to dynamics in the availability of gauged stations. Further, the analysis of variance also confirms there is no significant difference in the mean of these products in all climatological periods (Fig. 2b). The spatio-temporal distribution of meteorological stations is expected to vary, especially in regions with poor investment in meteorological stations. GPCC is still nonetheless, the largest gauge-observation data available globally and has been found suitable in the characterization of agricultural and hydrological drought in the African sub-regions, including the Congo basin (see, e.g., Ndehedehe et al., 2019, 2020; Agutu et al., 2017).