A First Comparative Analysis of Temperature Data Collected from Automatic and Conventional Weather Stations in Greece

Abstract

A new automatic system of meteorological observations has become operational at Hellenic National Meteorological Service. This new system attempts to overcome the problems of shortage of personnel and limited budget in recent years. The data collected from both systems of observation are analysed to detect any differences between them, understand these better, and perform any necessary adjustments. These differences may become important in evaluating normal values, developing homogenized data and examining climate variability and change. A first analysis of common temperature synoptic data collected from 11 Meteorological Stations is analyzed, for a period of 18 months. Dry, minimum, and maximum temperatures are studied. Results show that, in most cases, there is a very good correlation for all parameters; however, there are significant biases between corresponding values of new Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) and the Conventional Weather Stations (CWS).