Diurnal variation of rainfall rate in Singapore

In tropical areas like Singapore, Earth-space communication systems are affected by rain attenuation even at the lower 4/6 GHz frequency band. At 11/14 GHz band, rain attenuation is even more significant, giving rise to loss and or degradation of telecommunication traffic. The paper presents the results of analyses of hourly rainfall rates summarized for each month of the year for four raingauge stations set up in Singapore. Distinct diurnal variations of rainfall rate have been observed. The diurnal patterns show significant seasonal variations. The variations are due to seasonal weather conditions like monsoons, Sumatras (early morning rain from Sumatra) and convectional rain. The diurnal variations of rainfall rates are of interest to telecommunication operators who would like to know the seriousness of loss of traffic due to rain attenuation. The details are discussed