MEASUREMENT OF

METEOROLOGICAL VARIABLES
by
PROF. A. BALASUBRAMANIAN
DEPARTMENT OF STUDIES IN EARTH
SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF MYSORE, MYSORE

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Introduction:
Meteorological observations are made for a
variety of reasons. They are used for the real-
time preparation of weather charts and maps,
for weather forecasts and severe weather
warnings, for the study of climate, and for local
weather-dependent operations.
Meteorologists use a wide variety of
instruments to measure weather conditions.

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These data are required for analysis in
hydrology and agricultural meteorology, and for
research in meteorology and climatology.

Synoptic Observations:

Synoptic observations should be representative

of an area up to 100 km around the station.

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For small-scale or local applications, the
considered area should have the dimensions of
10 km or less.
Meteorological applications have their own
preferred timescales and space scales for
averaging, station density and resolution of
phenomena. It may be small for agricultural
meteorology and large for global long-range
forecasting.

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The scale ranges of measurements are as
follows:
(a) Microscale (less than 100 m) for agricultural
meteorology, for example, evaporation;
(b) Toposcale or local scale (100–3 km), for
example, air pollution, tornadoes;
(c) Mesoscale (3–100 km), for example,
thunderstorms, sea and mountain breezes;
(d) Large scale (100–3 000 km), for example,
fronts, various cyclones, cloud clusters;
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(e) Planetary scale (larger than 3 000 km), for
example, long upper tropospheric waves

General Requirements of a Meteorological

Station:
The requirements for weather elements to be
observed according to the type of station and
observing network are as follows:
1. Present weather
2. Past weather
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3. Wind direction and speed
4. Cloud amount
5. Cloud type
6. Cloud-base height
7. Visibility
8. Temperature
9. Relative humidity
10. Atmospheric pressure
11. Precipitation
12. Snow cover
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 13. Sunshine and/or solar radiation
14. Soil temperature
15. Evaporation .

Instruments are available to measure all of

these elements, except the cloud type.
Some meteorological stations take upper-air
measurements, measurements of soil moisture,
ozone and atmospheric composition.

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Automatic weather stations
Most of the elements required for synoptic,
climatological or aeronautical purposes can be
measured by automatic instrumentation.
Meteorological observing stations are designed
so that the representative measurements (or
observations) can be taken according to the type
of the station involved.

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The ground should be covered with short grass
or a surface representative of the locality, and
surrounded by open fencing to exclude entry of
unauthorized persons.
Within the enclosure, a bare patch of ground of
about 2 m x 2 m is reserved for observations of
the state of the ground and of soil temperature
at depths of equal to or less than 20 cm.

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Measurement of temperature:

For meteorological purposes, temperatures are

measured for a number of media.
The most common variable measured is the
atmospheric temperature (at various heights).
Other variables to be measured are the
temperature of the ground, soil, grass minimum
and seawater.

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The thermodynamic temperature (T), with units
of Kelvin (K), (also defined as “Kelvin
temperature”), is the basic temperature
variable.
The temperature (t), in degrees Celsius (or
“Celsius temperature”) is used for most
meteorological Purposes.
Meteorological requirements for temperature
measurements primarily relate to the following:
(a) The air near the Earth’s surface
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(b) The surface of the ground
(c) The soil at various depths
(d) The surface levels of the sea and lakes and
(e) The upper air.

These measurements are required, either jointly

or independently and locally or globally, for
input to numerical weather prediction models,
for hydrological and agricultural purposes, and
as indicators of climatic variability.
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Local temperature also has direct physiological
significance for the day-to-day activities of the
world’s population.
Measurements of temperature may be required
as continuous records or may be sampled at
different time intervals.
For climate studies in particular, the
temperature measurements are affected
1) by the state of the surroundings,
2) by vegetation,
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 3) by the presence of buildings and other
objects,
4) by ground cover,
5) by the condition of, and changes in, the
design of the radiation shield or screen, and
6) by other changes in equipment.
It is important that the records should be kept
not only of the temperature data, but also of the
circumstances in which the measurements are
taken.
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Such information is known as metadata (data
about data).
The major equipments used are:
1. Thermometers
2. Liquid-in-glass thermometers
3. Ordinary thermometers= mercury-in-glass-
type thermometer
4. Meteorological thermometers and
5. Radiometric thermometers.

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Soil thermometers :
For measuring the soil temperatures at depths of
20 cm or less, mercury-in-glass thermometers
are used. It is measured with their stems bent at
right angles, or any other suitable angle, below
the lowest graduation.
The thermometer bulb is sunk into the ground to
the required depth, and the scale is read with
the thermometer in situ.

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Measuring grass minimum temperatures :
The grass minimum temperature is the lowest
temperature reached overnight by a
thermometer freely exposed to the sky just
above short grass. The temperature is measured
with a minimum thermometer.
Electrical resistance thermometers:
Resistance thermometers, also called as
resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), are
sensors used to measure temperature.
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Many RTD elements consist of a length of fine
wire wrapped around a ceramic or glass core.
The RTD wire is a pure material, typically
platinum, nickel, or copper.

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Thermometer exposure and siting

Radiation from the sun, clouds, the ground and

other surrounding objects passes through the air
without appreciably changing its temperature,
but a thermometer exposed freely in the open
air can absorb considerable radiation and
display the values.

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Measurement of atmospheric pressure

The atmospheric pressure on a given surface is

the force per unit area exerted by virtue of the
weight of the atmosphere above. The pressure is
thus equal to the weight of a vertical column of
air above a horizontal projection of the surface,
extending to the outer limit of the atmosphere.

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The basic unit for atmospheric pressure
measurements is the Pascal (Pa) (or Newton
per square metre).
Some barometers are graduated in
“millimetres or inches of mercury under
standard conditions”.
Analysed pressure fields are a fundamental
requirement of the science of meteorology.

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For meteorological purposes, atmospheric
pressure is generally measured with electronic
barometers, mercury barometers, aneroid
barometers or hypsometers.

Mercury barometers /Electronic barometers

A barometer is the instrument used to
measure atmospheric pressure. Pressure
tendency can forecast short term changes in the
weather.
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Aneroid displacement transducers
The aneroid displacement transducer contains a
sensor with electrical properties (resistance or
capacitance) that changes as the atmospheric
pressure changes.

Digital piezoresistive barometers

Today’s mostly preferred pressure sensor is the
piezoresistive sensor.
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It is cheap, and still delivers a good result.

But it has drawbacks—significant power

requirements, low output signal, large offset,
and temperature dependence.

Many sensors are therefore internally

compensated for temperature effects.

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Cylindrical resonator barometers

A cylindrical resonator barometer (or vibrating

cylinder air-pressure transducer) is designed to
measure absolute air pressure using the
vibrating element principle, providing a
frequency output from which pressure is
computed.

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Aneroid barometers

Aneroid barometers have lower accuracy than

mercury barometers.
These are compact and portable equipments.

Aneroid barometers are easier to handle and

use, and are suitable for self-recording.

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Bourdon-tube barometers

Bourdon Tubes are known for its very high

range of differential pressure measurement in
the range of almost 100,000 psi (700 MPa). It is
an elastic type pressure transducer.
Bourdon-tube barometers usually consist of a
sensor element.

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Automatic digital barometers
Automatic digital barometers make use of a
combination of sensor and microprocessor
techniques.
In fact these instruments are composed of
sensors, transducers, a micro-processor and
digital electronics.
Electrical signals generated by the pressure
sensor(s) are interpreted by the micro-processor
using a more or less sophisticated algorithm.
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The outcome of most of the sensors, however, is
temperature dependent.
So inside most of the devices the temperature of
the pressure sensor is determined by a
temperature sensor.
Measurement of humidity:
The measurement of atmospheric humidity, and
often its continuous recording, is an important
requirement in most areas of meteorological
activity.
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The most frequently used quantities in
humidity measurements are as follows:
Mixing ratio:
It is the ratio between the mass of water vapour
and the mass of dry air.
Specific humidity:
The ratio between the mass of water vapour and
the mass of moist air.

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Dew point temperature :
The temperature at which moist air saturated
with respect to water at a given pressure has a
saturation mixing ratio equal to the given
mixing ratio.
Relative humidity:
The ratio in per cent of the observed vapour
pressure to the saturation vapour pressure with
respect to water at the same temperature and
pressure.
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Vapour pressure:

The partial pressure of water vapour in air.

Saturation vapour pressures :

Vapour pressures in air in equilibrium with the
surface of water and ice, respectively.

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Humidity measurements
Humidity measurements at the Earth’s surface
are required for meteorological analysis and
forecasting, for climate studies, and for many
special applications in hydrology, agriculture,
aeronautical services and environmental studies,
in general.They are particularly important
because of their relevance to the changes of
state of water in the atmosphere.

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Hygrometers

Any instrument used for measuring the

atmospheric humidity is known as a
hygrometer.

A hygrometer is an instrument used for

measuring the moisture content in the
atmosphere.

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Humidity measurement instruments usually rely
on measurements of some other quantity such
as temperature, pressure, mass or a mechanical
or electrical change in a substance as moisture
is absorbed.
Gravimetric hygrometry
This method uses the absorption of water
vapour by a desiccant from a known volume of
air. The gravimetric hygrometer is used for this
purpose.
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The psychrometric method
The measurement of atmospheric humidity is
an important requirement in most of the areas of
meteorological studies. Psychrometry is
defined as the measurement of the moisture
content of air.Nowadays many humidity
measuring devices are available.

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Sorption methods
Certain materials interact with water vapour and
undergo a change in a chemical or physical
property that is sufficiently reversible for use as
a sensor of ambient humidity.
Absorption of electromagnetic radiation by
water vapour(ultraviolet and infrared absorption
hygrometers) is used for this measurement
purpose.
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Measurement of surface wind :
Wind velocity is a three-dimensional vector
quantity with small-scale random fluctuations in
space and time.
Wind observations or measurements are
required
a) for weather monitoring and forecasting,
b) for wind-load climatology, for probability of
wind damage and

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c) for the estimation of wind energy, and as part
of the estimation of surface fluxes.

For nearly all applications, it is necessary to

measure the averages of wind speed and
direction.
Wind speed should be reported to a resolution
of 0.5 meters per second or in knots (0.515
meter per second) to the nearest unit for every
10 min.
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Averages over a shorter period are necessary for
certain aeronautical purposes.
Wind direction should be reported in degrees to
the nearest 10°.
Methods of measurement and observation
Surface wind is usually measured by a wind
vane and cup or propeller anemometer.
Simple hand-held anemometers are available
for this purpose.

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Cup and propeller sensors are commonly used
for this measurement. these are called as wind
vanes. For the purpose of obtaining a
satisfactory measurement, a wind vane will be
suitable.
Other wind sensors:
a lot of wind sensors are used for this purpose.
some of them include:
1) Pitot tube anemometers

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 2) Sonic anemometers Hot-disc anemometers
are recently developed solid-state instruments
3) Hot-wire anemometers
4) Remote wind-sensing techniques with
sound (sodar), light (lidar) or electromagnetic
waves (radar).
Anemometers over land:
The standard exposure of wind instruments over
a levelled open terrain is 10 m above the
ground.
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Open terrain is defined as an area where the
distance between the anemometer and any
obstruction is at least 10 times the height of the
obstruction.
Two aspects are very important.
First, the sensors should be kept away from
local obstructions as much as possible.
Secondly, the local situation should be well
documented.

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There should at least be a map of the station
surroundings within a radius of 2 km,
documenting obstacle and vegetation locations
and height, terrain elevation changes, and so
forth.
Anemometers at sea:
There is an increasing requirement for
instrumental measurements of wind over the
sea, especially by means of automatic
unattended systems.
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Measurement of precipitation :
Precipitation is defined as the liquid or solid
products of the condensation of water vapour
falling from clouds or deposited from air onto
the ground.
It includes rain, hail, snow, dew, sleet, frost and
fog precipitation.

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The total amount of precipitation which reaches
the ground in a stated period is expressed in
terms of the vertical depth of water (or water
equivalent in the case of solid forms) to which it
would cover a horizontal projection of the
Earth’s surface.
Snowfall is also expressed by the depth of fresh,
newly fallen snow covering an even horizontal
surface.

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The common observation times are hourly,
three hourly and daily, for synoptic,
climatological and hydrological purposes.
The analysis of precipitation data is much easier
and more reliable if the same gauges and siting
criteria are used throughout the networks.
Daily measurements of precipitation should be
taken at fixed times common to the entire
network or networks of interest.

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Rain gauges are the most common instruments
used to measure precipitation.

Point measurements of precipitation serve as the

primary source of data for areal analysis.

Non-recording precipitation gauges -

Ordinary gauges

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The commonly used precipitation gauge
consists of a collector placed above a funnel
leading into a container where the accumulated
water and melted snow are stored between
observation times.

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Recording precipitation gauges/Weighing-
recording gauge

Tipping-bucket gauge/ Measurement of dew,

ice accumulation and fog precipitation
The amount of dew deposited on a given
surface in a stated period is usually expressed in
units of kg m–2 or in millimetres depth of dew.

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Measurement of ice accumulation
Ice on pavements:
Sensors have been developed and are in
operation to detect and describe ice on roads
and runways, and to support warning and
maintenance programmes.
Measurement of fog precipitation
Fog consists of minute water droplets
suspended in the atmosphere to form a cloud at
the Earth’s surface.
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Measurement of snowfall and snow cover
Snowfall depth:
Depth measurements of snow cover or snow
accumulated on the ground are taken with a
snow ruler or similar graduated rod which is
pushed down through the snow to the ground
surface.
Snow gauges measure snowfall water
equivalent directly.

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Snow pillows:
Snow pillows of various dimensions and
materials are used to measure the weight of the
snow that accumulates on the pillow.
Radioisotope snow gauges:
Natural gamma radiation:
The method of gamma radiation snow
surveying is based on the attenuation by snow
of gamma radiation emanating from natural
radioactive elements in the top layer of the soil.
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The greater the water equivalent of the snow,
the more the radiation is attenuated.

Measurement of radiation :
The various fluxes of radiation to and from the
Earth’s surface are among the most important
variables in the heat economy of the Earth as a
whole and at any individual place at the Earth’s
surface or in the atmosphere.

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To analyse the properties and distribution of the
atmosphere with regard to its constituents, such
as aerosols, water vapour, ozone, and so on; (c)
To study the distribution and variations of
incoming, outgoing and net radiation;
(d) To satisfy the needs of biological, medical,
agricultural, architectural and industrial
activities with respect to radiation.

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Radiation quantities may be classified into two
groups according to their origin, namely solar
and terrestrial radiation.
Solar energy is the electromagnetic energy
emitted by the sun.
The solar radiation incident on the top of the
terrestrial atmosphere is called extraterrestrial
solar radiation;

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97 per cent of which is confined to the spectral
range 290 to 3 000 nm is called solar (or
sometimes shortwave) radiation.

Terrestrial radiation is the long-wave

electromagnetic energy emitted by the Earth’s
surface and by the gases, aerosols and clouds of
the atmosphere; it is also partly absorbed within
the atmosphere.

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For a temperature of 300 K, 99.99 per cent of
the power of the terrestrial radiation has a
wavelength longer than 3 000 nm and about 99
per cent longer than 5 000 nm. For lower
temperatures, the spectrum is shifted to longer
wavelengths.
Since the spectral distributions of solar and
terrestrial radiation overlap very little, they can
very often be treated separately in
measurements and computations.
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In meteorology, the sum of both types is called
total radiation. In the past, several radiation
references or scales have been used in
meteorology, namely the Angstrom scale of
1905, the Smithsonian scale of 1913, and the
international pyrheliometric scale. Irradiance
and radiant exposure are the quantities most
commonly recorded and archived, with
averages and totals of over 1 h.

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Direct solar radiation is measured by means of
pyrheliometers, the receiving surfaces of which
are arranged to be normal to the solar direction.
By means of apertures, only the radiation from
the sun and a narrow annulus of sky is
measured.
Times and location of observation
Absolute radiometers with self-calibration
facility are prefered.

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Meteorological radiation instruments are:
Absolute Pyrheliometers,
Pyranometer,
Sunphotometer

Spectral direct solar irradiance and

measurement of optical depth:
Broadband pyrheliometry
Sun radiometry (photometry) and aerosol
optical depth.
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Measurement of global and diffuse sky
radiation
Broadband sensors
Narrowband sensors
Spectroradiometers
Parameters:
1. Radiant energy,
2. Radiant flux,
3. Radiant exitance,
4. Irradiance,
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5. Radiance,
6. Radiant exposure & Intensity,
7. Quantity of light- Luminous flux &
Exitance,
8. Light exposure,
9. Illuminance,
10. Luminous flux density,
11. Emissivity,
12. Reflectance, absorbance,
13. Transmittance.
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Measurement of sunshine duration:
The term “sunshine” is associated with the
brightness of the solar disc exceeding the
background of diffuse sky light, or, as is better
observed by the human eye, with the
appearance of shadows behind illuminated
objects. As such, the term is related more to
visual radiation than to energy radiated at other
wavelengths, although both aspects are
inseparable.
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The physical quantity of sunshine duration (SD)
is, evidently, time. The units used are seconds
or hours.
For climatological purposes, derived terms such
as “hours per day” or “daily sunshine hours”
are used, as well as percentage quantities, such
as “relative daily sunshine duration”.
The requirements on sunshine recorders vary,
depending on site and season, according to the
dominant cloud formation.
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One of the first applications of SD data was to
characterize the climate of sites, especially of
health resorts.
This also takes into account the psychological
effect of strong solar light on human well-being.
It is still used by some local authorities to
promote tourist destinations.

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Measurement methods

Pyrheliometric method
Pyranometric method
Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorders
Specially designed multisensor detectors
(mostly equipped with photovoltaic
cells) combined with an electronic discriminator
and a time counter.
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Scanning method:
Discrimination of the irradiance received from
continuously scanned, small sky sectors.

Measurement of visibility

Visibility was first defined for meteorological

purposes as a quantity to be estimated by a
human observer, and observations made in that
way are widely used.
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However, the estimation of visibility is affected
by many subjective and physical factors.

Visibility, meteorological visibility (by day) and

meteorological visibility at night are defined as
the greatest distance at which a black object of
suitable dimensions (located on the ground)
can be seen and recognized.

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Luminous flux (symbol:
F (or Φ); unit: lumen) is a quantity derived
from radiant flux.The meteorological visibility
or MOR is expressed in metres or kilometres.
The measurement range varies according to the
application.

Measurement methods
Visual perception -photopic and scotopic vision.

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Meteorological visibility in daylight and at
night.

Visual estimation of meteorological optical

range
A meteorological observer can make a visual
estimation of MOR using natural or man-made
objects (groups of trees, rocks, towers, steeples,
churches, lights, and so forth).

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Instrumental measurement of the
meteorological optical range
Visual extinction meters
Transmissometers
Visibility lidars.
The lidar (light detection and ranging)
technique may be used to measure visibility
when the beam is directed horizontally.
Telephotometers and visual extinction meters.

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Measurement of evaporation(Actual)
evaporation: Quantity of water evaporated from
an open water surface or from the ground.
Transpiration: Process by which water from
vegetation is transferred into the atmosphere in
the form of vapour.
(Actual) evapotranspiration (or effective
evapotranspiration):Quantity of water vapour
evaporated from the soil and plants when the
ground is at its natural moisture content.
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Potential evaporation (or evaporativity):
Quantity of water vapour which could be
emitted by a surface of pure water, per unit
surface area and unit time, under existing
atmospheric conditions.
Potential evapotranspiration:
Maximum quantity of water capable of being
evaporated in a given climate from a
continuous expanse of vegetation covering the
whole ground and well supplied with water.
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It includes evaporation from the soil and
transpiration from the vegetation from a specific
region in a specific time interval, expressed as
depth of water.

The rate of evaporation is defined as the amount

of water evaporated from a unit surface area per
unit of time.

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Factors affecting the rate of evaporation from
any body or surface can be broadly divided into
two groups, meteorological factors and surface
factors.
Measurement methods
Atmometers:
An atmometer is an instrument that measures
the loss of water from a wetted, porous surface.

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The wetted surfaces are either porous ceramic
spheres, cylinders, plates, or exposed filter-
paper discs saturated with water.
Evaporation pans and tanks
Evapotranspirometers (lysimeters):
In general, a lysimeter consists of the soil-filled
inner container and retaining walls or an outer
container, as well as special devices for
measuring percolation and changes in the soil-
moisture content.
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Exposure of evapotranspirometers
Measurement of soil moisture
Soil moisture is an important component in the
atmospheric water cycle, both on a small
agricultural scale and in large-scale modelling
of land/ atmosphere interaction. Vegetation and
crops always depend more on the moisture
available at root level than on precipitation
occurrence.

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Water budgeting for irrigation planning, as well
as the actual scheduling of irrigation action,
requires local soil moisture information.
Soil moisture determinations measure either the
soil water content or the soil water potential.
Soil water content:
Soil water content is an expression of the mass
or volume of water in the soil, while the soil
water potential is an expression of the soil water
energy status.
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The basic technique for measuring soil water
content is the gravimetric method.
Unfortunately, gravimetric sampling is
destructive, rendering repeat measurements on
the same soil sample impossible.
Soil consists of individual particles and
aggregates of mineral and organic materials,
separated by spaces or pores which are
occupied by water and air.

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Soil water content:Indirect methods
The capacity of soil to retain water is a function
of soil texture and structure. When removing a
soil sample, the soil being evaluated is
disturbed, so its water-holding capacity is
altered. Indirect methods of measuring soil
water are helpful as they allow information to
be collected at the same location for many
observations without disturbing the soil water
system.
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Radiological methods:
Two different radiological methods are
available for measuring soil water content.
One is the widely used neutron scatter method,
which is based on the interaction of high-
energy (fast) neutrons and the nuclei of
hydrogen atoms in the soil.
The other method measures the attenuation of
gamma rays as they pass through soil.

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The prevailing methods are:
a) Neutron scattering method, b) Gamma-ray
attenuation.

Soil water dielectrics-

Tensiometers:

The most widely used and least expensive water

potential measuring device is the tensiometer.

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Tensiometers are simple instruments, usually
consisting of a porous ceramic cup and a sealed
plastic cylindrical tube connecting the porous
cup to some pressure-recording device at the
top of the cylinder.

They measure the matric potential, because

solutes can move freely through the porous cup.

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Resistance blocks:
Electrical resistance blocks, although
insensitive to water potentials in the wet range,
are excellent companions to the tensiometer.
They consist of electrodes encased in some
type of porous material that within about two
days will reach a quasi-equilibrium state with
the soil.

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The most common block materials are nylon
fabric, fibreglass and gypsum. This method
determines water potential as a function of
electrical resistance, measured with an
alternating current bridge.
The other major methods adopted for weather
observations include:
Remote sensing of soil moisture
Psychrometers

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Measurement of upper-air pressure, temperature
and humidity
Measurement of upper wind
Present and past weather; state of the ground
Observation of clouds
Measurement of ozone
Measurement of atmospheric composition.

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