Analysis of the dynamic of extreme rainfall events based on rain gauge measurement networks in Berlin, Germany in the context of wireless communication performance

<p>With the effects of the advancing climate change the intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall events in many regions of the world is likely to increase. Heavy rainfall has a significant impact on the propagation of electromagnetic waves during wireless data transmission, especially for higher frequency ranges above 10 GHz. For the development of future wireless communication technologies like Terahertz (THz) links, precise information about the development and characteristics of extreme rainfall events is essential, especially in urban regions where these new technologies are likely to be implemented. In this study we investigate the dynamic of heavy rainfall events in the city of Berlin and surrounding areas for the timeframe between 2011 and 2020. Stationary measurements and crowdsourcing data of the urban climate observatory network as well as the measurement network of the German Meteorological Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD) is statistically evaluated to characterize the intensity, duration, and spatiotemporal variability of extreme rainfall events. Furthermore, possible connections between rainfall and factors like land cover and topography are analyzed. The influence of the distance between individual measurement stations on these results is examined using auto correlations. The rainfall data will also be used for attenuation models based on recommendations of the International Telecommunications Union to evaluate the rain specific impact on wireless signal propagation. For this investigation several common frequency ranges for the 5^th wireless communication standard (5G), as well as frequencies in the THz ranges (100 GHz to 10 THz), are used to allow for an assessment of the vulnerability of wireless communication networks in the area of Berlin. Furthermore, these results are used as a reference for similar evaluations with spatially and temporally resolved meteorological datasets including the Central Europe refined analysis generated with the weather research and forecasting model and the radar-based precipitation climatology data set by the DWD.</p>