ISSN (Print) : 2320 – 3765 ISSN (Online): 2278 – 8875 International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical, Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering (An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization) Vol. 4, Issue 6, June 2015 Copyright to IJAREEIE DOI: 10.15662/ijareeie.2015.0406001 4871 Empirical Determination of the Effect of Rainfall on Radio Communication (The Case of the Aviation Industry) in Nigeria Eke J. 1 , Ohaneme C.O. 2 , Onoh G.N. 1 Department of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria 1 Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria 2 ABSTRACT: Despite the presence and use of modern aviation equipment and instrumentation, there are still regular occurrences of air wish ups with very grave consequences. Often this has been attributed not only to equipment failures but to the inability of the operators to read or understood the role of nature in air navigation. These natural effects are the cloud cover, rainfall (both the volume and rate) as well as temperature. This paper uses empirical information of some of these meteorological conditions on radar signal reception to predict weather conditions. The work was carried out at Akanu Ibiam International Airport situated in Enugu, one of the old regional capitals of Nigeria, Enugu (6.42 o N, 7.61 o E). This was because of its strategic position and weather variations. It is neither of the heavy rainfall area nor of the hot dry zone of the country. It also has some hills around it which gave its name, Enugu, meaning on top of a hill. Using simple model, it was found that as the rainfall rate    increased the value of the return power   is only significantly noticeable at higher frequencies of 30GHz and above but for lower   the backscatter echo signal   is negligibly small irrespective of the values of the frequency. The results show that for communication in Enugu, radar frequency of between 10 and 30 GHz are recommended. KEYWORDS: Meteorological conditions, radar, attenuation, target, echo signal rainfall rate, cloud cover, backscatter. I. INTRODUCTION With the global breakdown of the banking industry some years past, each nation has sought for ways of boosting her economy. They have done this by trying to diversify their economic base. Increase in agricultural yields, industrial outputs, mineral mining etc have received budgetary allocations. While in the developed economies where these are yielding positive results, the developing nations have looked inwards and have included tourism as a serious source of economic growth. This is why many international airports are springing up in these countries. In Nigeria, approval has been given for about four new international airports to be built. These are either upgraded or new ones built. While the Ibom airport at Uyo, Akwa Ibom State has been completed, the ones at Katsina and Asaba are at various levels of completion. The Akanu Ibiam International Airport at Enugu, the capital of the old eastern region of Nigeria is being upgraded from local to international status. One very important factor which will facilitate the use of these airports is the safety of the planes. A few years past, the available records show that the performance of aviation industry in Nigeria has been negative. This must not have been unconnected to the adverse effect of weather conditions especially rainfall on the poor visibility of airplane during rainy seasons. This study equally shows that improving the visibility of the airbus will in no small measure encourage the use of our airports in Nigeria, thereby enhancing the economic base of the nation through tourism. However in the last few months the international airports in the country has received the USA Grade A status. It is therefore important that this status be maintained. One way to do this is to ensure that the planes are well monitored and directed accordingly, hence the present work. Therefore, this work x-rays the effect of rainfall on the safety of lives and properties of Nigeria aviation industry using Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu, South-East Nigeria as a case study. Nigeria has two main climate seasons – the rainy and the dry seasons. The harmattan period though very pronounced especially in the Northern part of the country occurs with the dry season. The rainy season occurs from March to September while October to February is the dry season with harmattan occurring in December and January. These