Effects of weather conditions on the public demand for weather information via smartphone in multiple regions of China

Because of the popularity of smartphones, most people can easily access weather information via smartphone applications. In this study, we analyzed usage data for the Moji Weather smartphone application in 2017 and 2018 and devised a demand index to determine how often the weather information was used by the public under different weather conditions.

Using hourly observations of surface temperature, wind intensity, precipitation, and visibility, we quantified the relationship between the demand for weather information and weather conditions in different regions of China. In general, the demand index increased with increases in local hourly precipitation or surface wind intensity in all regions; however, there were notable regional differences in the increasing trends.