Precipitable water vapor (PWV) with high precision and high temporal resolution estimated by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is widely used in atmospheric research and weather forecasting. However, most previous works are not consensual concerning the characteristics of the PWV at different time scales and the identification of active and break spells during summ er monsoon climate in Guangxi, China. Taking radiosonde (RS) observations as reference, a strong correlation (R > 0.97) exists between GNSS PWV and RS PWV with a mean root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.68 mm. The annual, seasonal, monthly, and diurnal PWV variations of three years (2017, 2018 and 2020) over Guangxi in were comprehensively investigated using 104 GNSS stations and the fifth-generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Atmospheric Reanalysis (ERA5). The mean annual bias and RMSE between GNSS PWV and ERA5 PWV are −1.04 mm and 2.63 mm, respectively. The monthly bias and RMSE range are −0.77 to 3.87 mm, 1.32 to 4.45 mm, and the daily range is −1.41 to 1.07 mm and 1.11 to 5.02 mm, respectively. Additionally, the adopted average standardized rainfall anomaly criteria also identified 7/7/3 active spells and 5/3/7 break spells during the summer monsoon (June–September) from 2017 to 2020, respectively. During the three-year period, the daily amplitude ranges for active spells varied from 1.41 to 2.49 mm, 0.69 to 5.4 mm, and 0.88 to 1.41 mm, while the ranges for break spells were 2.45 to 6.76 mm, 1.66 to 8.17 mm, and 1.48 to 2.99 mm, respectively. The results show a superior performance of GNSS PWV compared to ERA5 PWV in Guangxi, and the maximum, minimum and occurrence time of PWV anomaly vary slightly with the season and the topography of stations. Despite temperature primarily exhibiting a negative correlation with rainfall, acting as a dampener, a positive correlation remains evident between PWV and rainfall. Therefore, densely distributed GNSS stations exhibit excellent capabilities in quantifying atmospheric water vapor and facilitating real-time monitoring of small and medium-scale weather phenomena.

The geostationary meteorological satellite Fengyun-4A (FY-4A) has rapidly advanced, generating abundant high spatiotemporal resolution atmospheric precipitable water vapor (PWV) products. However, remote sensing satellites are vulnerable to weather conditions, and these latest operational PWV products still require systematic validation. This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of FY-4A PWV products by separately using PWV data retrieved from radiosondes (RS) and the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) from 2019 to 2022 in China and the surrounding regions. The overall results indicate a significant consistency between FY-4A PWV and RS PWV as well as GNSS PWV, with mean biases of 7.21 mm and −8.85 mm, and root mean square errors (RMSEs) of 7.03 mm and 3.76 mm, respectively. In terms of spatial variability, the significant differences in mean bias and RMSE were 6.50 mm and 2.60 mm between FY-4A PWV and RS PWV in the northern and southern subregions, respectively, and 5.36 mm and 1.73 mm between FY-4A PWV and GNSS PWV in the northwestern and southern subregions, respectively. The RMSE of FY-4A PWV generally increases with decreasing latitude, and the bias is predominantly negative, indicating an underestimation of water vapor. Regarding temporal differences, both the monthly and daily biases and RMSEs of FY-4A PWV are significantly higher in summer than in winter, with daily precision metrics in summer displaying pronounced peaks and irregular fluctuations. The classic seasonal, regional adjustment model effectively reduced FY-4A PWV deviations across all regions, especially in the NWC subregion with low water vapor distribution. In summary, the accuracy metrics of FY-4A PWV show distinct spatiotemporal variations compared to RS PWV and GNSS PWV, and these variations should be considered to fully realize the potential of multi-source water vapor applications.

Precipitation water vapor (PWV) is an important parameter in numerical weather forecasting and climate research. However, existing PWV adjustment models lack comprehensive consideration of seasonal and geographic factors. This study utilized the General Regression Neural Network (GRNN) algorithm and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) PWV in China to construct and evaluate European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Atmospheric Reanalysis (ERA5) PWV adjustment models for various seasons and subregions based on meteorological parameters (GMPW model) and non-meteorological parameters (GFPW model). A linear model (GLPW model) was established for model accuracy comparison. The results show that: (1) taking GNSS PWV as a reference, the Bias and root mean square error (RMSE) of the GLPW, GFPW, and GMPW models are about 0/1 mm, which better weakens the systematic error of ERA5 PWV. The overall Bias of the GLPW, GFPW, and GMPW models in the Northwest (NWC), North China (NC), Tibetan Plateau (TP), and South China (SC) subregions is approximately 0 mm after adjustment. The adjusted overall RMSE of the GLPW, GFPW, and GMPW models of the four subregions are 0.81/0.71/0.62 mm, 1.15/0.95/0.77 mm, 1.66/1.26/1.05 mm, and 2.11/1.35/0.96 mm, respectively. (2) The accuracy of the three models is tested using GNSS PWV, which is not involved in the modeling. The adjusted overall RMSE of the GLPW, GFPW, and GMPW models in the four subregions are 0.89/0.85/0.83 mm, 1.61/1.58/1.27 mm, 2.11/1.75/1.68 mm and 3.65/2.48/1.79 mm, respectively. As a result, the GFPW and GMPW models have better accuracy in adjusting ERA5 PWV than the linear model GLPW. Therefore, the GFPW and GMPW models can effectively contribute to water vapor monitoring and the integration of multiple PWV datasets.