Investigation of relationship between cloudiness and global radiation using METEOSAT images

The relationship between the daily values of global radiation measured at the ground in the vicinity of Budapest and in the Hungarian Great Plain and two kinds of cloud parameters determined on the basis of METEOSAT analogue paper pictures was studied for the period between November 1981 and July 1983. One of the cloud parameters, the cloud coverage given in tenths, has a quadratic relationship with the surface global radiation. The other cloud parameter, the relative brightness, is in a good linear connection with the global radiation. The advantage of the first parameter is that its determination does not demand any technical equipment, but the second parameter is more objective. The comparison of the calculated global radiation values with the data measured shows that the precision of the formulae determined is good in both cases.