The standard is far from a blessing in every industry: Radio waves can affect devices that measure humidity, and their impact is not considered in current models.
Although fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks facilitate the transmission of meteorological data, at the same time, some experts fear that it may have a negative impact on weather forecasts and their accuracy. A study by Rutgers University staff confirmed the doubts of skeptical professionals.
Mohammad Yousefvand, the author of the study, and colleagues found that “confused” or “lost” radio waves from 5G networks could get into the frequency bands of weather satellites and cause serious interference there. The on-board sensors of the affected devices usually measure the humidity of the Earth’s atmosphere. The latter values are important, among other things, because they help to forecast the amount of rain falling in each region.
Narayan B. Mandayam, a professor in the Wireless Information Network Laboratory at Rutgers University , said it was the first study of its kind to examine the effects of the 5G standard on weather forecasting and their experience has shown that new networks can have an impact on accuracy of forecasts.
Mandayam and his team used simulations to find out if there was a correlation between 5G transmitters and previous supercornado-related predictions. The results showed that even small amounts of radio waves significantly falsified forecasts of rainfall and surface temperature. The scientist stressed that while it can be said that the impact of these errors is not decisive, the phenomenon cannot be ignored and something should be done in any case to minimize or completely prevent these counterfeits.
Among other things, it would be important to improve antenna technology and modify weather forecasting algorithms to take into account misleading 5G waves and their effects. Thus, the latter could be taken into account when making forecasts and more accurate forecasts could be issued.