Stratiform and Convective Drop Size Distributions on Specific Rain Attenuation in Peninsular Malaysia for Propagation Applications

This work investigates the effects of stratiform and convective raindrop size distributions (DSDs) on radio waves propagating through the atmosphere and their diurnal variation. The specific attenuation due to precipitation is derived for frequencies at Ka and Q bands based on three years of disdrometer data collected in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Separate analyses are carried out for stratiform and convective events, classified according to their peak rain rate value and grouped into three different periods of the day, namely morning, evening and night. DSD and rain rate data are employed to directly derive specific attenuation values by means of the point matching method, as well as to determine the local power law coefficients of the rain rate to specific attenuation relationship. The obtained results suggest that radio communication engineers should carefully consider the effects of the diurnal variation of the DSD, especially for 5G terrestrial applications as well as Satellite link operating at Ka band and above at the location of interest.