The interpretation of rain graphs given on 2018-04-18 was changed with the one provided on 2018-09-18.
The latter applies the grouping of “descriptive” intensity rates into categories with a strong bias towards users in temperate areas. This suggests a worldview of uniformity and linearity in nature that doesn’t exist.
Rainfall intensities in the humid tropics are significantly higher than in temperate areas and require different groupings. Likewise, rainfall rates in semi-arid regions are much lower.
Applying the temperate standard globally means that a significant proportion of rainfall events in, say, the humid tropics will fall into the very heavy and extreme categories. It beats me how this is helping “the average user”…
Since the categories defined aren’t universally applicable, it would be better to use the actual rain rates and show the values on a second y-axis.
To guide “the average user” in their interpretation, categories suitable for other regions (e.g. the humid tropics and semi-arid conditions) should be added to the existing temperate groupings.