Dutch researchers say they have discovered a way to use mobile
phone networks to measure rainfall. Aart Overeem from the Royal
Netherlands Meteorological Institute decided to pursue a lower-
cost alternative to rain measurement after the depletion of
traditional rain gauges worldwide in recent years made the
collection of accurate data difficult. Mr Overeem said
researchers had wondered whether they could use the microwave
radio links that transmit mobile phone calls to measure
rainfall. "It had already been known for a long time that
rainfall can influence the strength of the signal in
telecommunication," Mr Overeem said. "For instance by the end of
the '90s, some colleagues of mine already had what you call a
research link in which they showed that the signal gets weaker
in case of rainfall," he said. "In case of a radio link,
electromagnetic signals travel from the antenna of one telephone
tower to the antenna of another telephone tower. "When it starts
raining the signal gets weaker, so the more rain dropl