What is the difference between the thermometer in weather stations and vehicles, and which is more accurate?

Weather of Arabia - Most vehicles have temperature sensors and we often see that the temperatures recorded according to the vehicle sensors are much higher than those reported in weather bulletins or recorded from meteorological stations. Are the temperatures recorded in vehicles approved in meteorology and what is the difference between them And between measuring meteorological stations?

Vehicle thermometers are not used in meteorology. Why?

In meteorology, the recorded temperatures from vehicle sensors are not adopted, as a result of the presence of the measurement sensor under the vehicle body (manufactured with iron, aluminum or fiber) depending on its location according to the type of vehicle, and these materials are considered a good conductor and radiator of heat and work to give a “higher” temperature From truth on hot summer days or "less" from truth on cold winter nights.

As a result of the proximity of some of these sensors, depending on the type of vehicle, to the engine, which heats up with driving to between 60-100 degrees Celsius, and this heat works - no matter how much the insulation methods are around it, by giving temperatures "higher" than the truth with varying values.

Many of these sensors are also affected by the temperature of the asphalt depending on their location inside the vehicle: they give readings that are “higher” than the truth when driving in a desert area in the afternoon, while they give readings that are “lower” to a certain extent if there is water or Snow on the surface of the asphalt, as the water loses heat by direct contact and radiation with the surrounding air.

What is the difference between measuring temperatures in vehicles and between weather stations?

The temperatures measured in vehicles differ from those measured at weather stations because the vehicle sensors are affected by the ambient conditions reviewed above.

But the temperatures approved by the meteorological stations are measured according to special global standards agreed upon by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and in simplified terms, the temperatures of the free air are measured at a height of one and a half to two meters above the surface of the earth by a manual or automatic scale It is factory audited for the first time and periodically later inside a wooden box with certain international dimensions, measurements and specifications, and this is what the Arab Regional Weather Center uses in the automatic weather monitoring stations owned by the center and distributed over the various regions of the Kingdom.

The meteorological stations supply the center with the different temperatures and elements of the atmosphere, moment by moment, and live and directly throughout the day. Thus, it is difficult to compare the measurement of vehicles with the measurement of meteorological stations due to the violation of the vehicle scales with the conditions for monitoring the temperatures adopted globally.