You’re not imagining it – rain really does put a dampener on your internet signal
Does your WiFi lag or mobile signal drop out when it’s raining? According to telecommunications experts, Professor and it’s not a figment of your imagination.
“Rain absolutely impacts telecommunications,” said Professor Li, who researches wireless communications in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering.
“Mainly, it affects the radio signals of higher frequency and long-range transmissions, such as satellite links that are used for digital TV broadcasting services, internet, GPS and more,” he said.
Rain impacts how a signal moves through space and earth’s atmosphere.
“Rain affects propagation – the ‘behaviour’ of radio waves – at very high frequencies,” said Professor Vucetic, Director of the Centre for IoT and Telecommunications.
“This includes certain satellite communications and 5G, affecting telecommunications infrastructure, with heavier rain having a more pronounced impact, leading to ‘signal attenuation’ – the loss of signal strength.”
It also appears that higher the frequency bands, the greater the power loss.
“Satellite services operating in the Ka (12GHz) and Ku (30GHz) bands, and 5G layers running in the mmwave band (26Hz) are affected by heavy rain,” she said.
Development in hazard-prone areas a factor in rising number of disasters
According to from the School of Civil Engineering, inappropriate development is leading to great disaster risk.
“In the , projected increases in direct flood damages are expected to be 1.4 to 2 times higher at 2°C and 2.5 to 3.9 times at 3°C as compared to 1.5°C global warming without adaptation,” said Dr Opdyke, who is a humanitarian engineer.
“The long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement signed in 2016 was set at 1.5°C (above pre-industrial levels). While we need to continue taking measures to mitigate climate change, it is also increasingly vital that we adapt to meet climate pressures that will happen regardless under current emission targets.”
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“Climate change is increasingly blamed as the culprit for the rising number of disasters we are experiencing, but the encroachment of development in hazard-prone areas is playing an equally important role.
“Flood hazards are only one part of the equation when we talk about disasters. On the other side, vulnerability – the physical, social, economic and environmental factors which increase the susceptibility of our communities to the impacts of natural hazards – often defines whether a disaster happens or not. Where and how we choose to build is equally important.”
