Towards Improving Visibility Forecasts: A Statistical Approach

Kuei-Pao Lu　Lin, John　Chun-Han

Weather Center Weather Wing, CAF ROC

ABSTRACT

　　Visibility is a crucial variable influencing airport operations and general aviation safety. In this study, a statistical regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the CAF airport-based observations of visibility and the relevant atmospheric physical variables.
　　The preliminary results reveal that four factors can affect visibility: relative humidity, PM concentration, month of year, and presence of rainfall. The relationship between visibility and these four factors more or less depend on station location, but in general, RH and PM are the variables most related to visibility. With increases in PM and RH, visibility decreases. Moreover, visibility is more sensitive to changes in PM2.5 concentrations than to PM10.