The Application Overview of Meteorological Radar Data in Climate Research

Weather radar data, characterized by its full-field scanning capabilities, high spatial and temporal resolution, extensive coverage, real-time data availability, and 3D data storage, have found widespread utility in the monitoring and early warning of severe weather events. Increased awareness regarding radar data storage and advances in storage technology have led to improvements in both the temporal span and quality of radar data, unlocking its potential for climatological research. Presently, radar data are applied in climate studies encompassing convective precipitation radar climatology, convective storm radar climatology, hail climatology, urban climatology, among others. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the progress made in the application of radar data within these climatological domains, synthesizing novel approaches for integrating radar data into climate research. Furthermore, the paper identifies the challenges and existing technologies in radar climatology research and points out the development directions of future radar climatology research, thereby establishing a solid foundation for expanding the application scenarios of radar data and further enhancing its application capability.