Comparative analysis of daily climatic data from a conventional Weather station and an automatic Weather station at the La Mé station in Côte d'Ivoire

Accurate weather monitoring systems are essential in developing countries. Indeed, they are necessary for small-scale research such as precision agriculture. However, the use of non-standardized measuring instruments raises concerns about the quality of the data collected. Alongside traditional measuring instruments, the use of automatic weather stations is becoming increasingly common. However, it is necessary to ensure the consistency of the data collected by these measuring devices. The study conducted at the La Mé station allowed for a comparison of data from two weather stations (a traditional manual station and an automatic station) over 32 days, from mid-June to mid-July. The method used to obtain data varies from one station to another. At the conventional weather station, readings are taken once, twice, or three times a day, depending on the parameter. At the automatic weather station, sensors continuously record meteorological data every hour. The results show strong positive correlations (0.998 for precipitation and 0.938 for radiation) between the two stations, indicating a similar trend in the values of the parameters studied. However, significant differences were found between the stations for average temperature, radiation, and relative humidity. This study shows that the data collected by the two stations are consistent and are necessary to ensure complementary measurements, thereby enabling better agroclimatic monitoring of oil palm cultivation in La Mé.