BIG DATA MINING AND ANALYTICS

ISSN 2096-0654 04/07 pp25–32

Volume 4, Number 1, March 2021
DOI: 10.26599/BDMA.2020.9020018

IoT-Based Data Logger for Weather Monitoring Using Arduino-Based

Wireless Sensor Networks with Remote Graphical Application and Alerts
Jamal Mabrouki , Mourade Azrour, Driss Dhiba, Yousef Farhaoui, and Souad El Hajjaji

Abstract: In recent years, the monitoring systems play significant roles in our life. So, in this paper, we propose an
automatic weather monitoring system that allows having dynamic and real-time climate data of a given area. The
proposed system is based on the internet of things technology and embedded system. The system also includes
electronic devices, sensors, and wireless technology. The main objective of this system is sensing the climate
parameters, such as temperature, humidity, and existence of some gases, based on the sensors. The captured
values can then be sent to remote applications or databases. Afterwards, the stored data can be visualized in
graphics and tables form.

Key words: Arduino; weather station; internet of things; wireless; sensors; smart environment

1 Introduction to measure various parameters. For example, humans

have created thermometer, barometer, and pyrometer
Nowadays, the application of Internet of Things (IoT)
for measuring temperature, atmospheric pressure, and
affects all habitual domains[1] . The invented IoT systems
solar radiation, respectively. However, those traditional
are attempted to control, manage, and monitor human
tools must be used locally. On the other hand, with the
usual actions, environmental parameters, or animal
invention of IoT, humans can measure all environment
movements. So, all these innovations are developed to
parameters remotely[7–10] . Thus, the procedure of
facilitate human work and make the life easier than
quantifying and measuring environmental parameters
before. In this stage, the environmental monitoring
has become simple than in previous days.
systems are invented to measure and control the
The recent environmental monitoring systems[11–14]
environment parameters[2–6] .
are based on the sensors, such as temperature, humidity,
For many years, humans try to understand their
and pressure sensors. Some of these sensors can support
environment. So, humans have invented many objects
different environmental conditions. But, others require
specific conditions. These sensors can capture the
 Jamal Mabrouki and Souad El Hajjaji are with Laboratory of
corresponding physical or chemical weather values and
Spectroscopy, Molecular Modelling, Materials, Nanomaterial,
Water and Environment, CERNE2D, Faculty of Science, convert them to an electric signal. Hence, the captured
Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat 10000, Morocco. values are transferred as electric signal to an electronic
E-mail: [email protected]. card. The last one is able to understand the received
 Mourade Azrour and Yousef Farhaoui are with IDMS Team, signals and give its respected value to each one.
Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Sciences and In this context, we propose a framework of weather
Techniques, Moulay Ismail University, Errachidia 52000,
monitoring station in this paper. Our system is based
Morocco.
 Driss Dhiba is with International Water Research Institute IWRI,
on internet of things technology. In our system, the
University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), Benguerir Arduino card plays a fundamental role. In fact, it can
43150, Morocco. process the measured value and take some decisions.
 To whom correspondence should be addressed. It can also be considered as the intermediate between
Manuscript received: 2020-07-23; accepted: 2020-08-21 the sensors and the monitoring application. The local

C The author(s) 2021. The articles published in this open access journal are distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
 26 Big Data Mining and Analytics, March 2021, 4(1): 25–32

and remote communications between our system and In 2018, Reddy et al.[18] proposed a low-cost weather
other correspondent devices are provided through Wi-Fi monitoring based on the internet of things technology.
module. The proposed system used several electronic sensors for
The rest of this paper is arranged as follows. Section sensing the air conditions including hydrocarbons, sulfur
2 presents related works to our study. In Section 3, we dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and so on. In case of reception
give our proposed system. In Section 4, the experiment of the dangerous gas values, the system activated the
results and discussion are detailed. Lastly, the paper is warning alarm. Furthermore, it can communicate an
concluded in Section 5. Short Message System (SMS) message to final user.
Finally, it was connected to distance database designed
2 Literature Review for storing the historical measurement.
In recent time, the new technology applications allow Afterwards, Kumari et al.[19] proposed an intelligent
us to measure various air parameters in distance, thus environment monitoring system based on Android and
to monitor air quality remotely. These applications are the internet of things technology. The designed system is
developed thanks to the advantage of internet of things capable to measure some air, water, and soil parameters
and the innovation of new devices. The monitoring that are used to evaluate the environment. For these
systems necessitate the application interface that can reasons, the system is equipped with various sensors that
be web page, software, or mobile application for are connected to Rasberry Pi card. Upon getting the
visualization of the received values or controlling the measured parameters, the card transfers their values to
systems[15] . the remote database via wireless network.
In 2016, Rao et al.[13] presented the system for In 2019, Durrani et al.[20] proposed a smart weather
monitoring weather based on IoT. The system measured station for monitoring weather parameters. This system
various parameters such as temperature values, light is equipped with various sensors that collect data from
intensity, and CO level[16] . In the same year, Ram and their location and then send them to the cloud. In
Gupta[12] developed weather visualization system based addition, they can predict the future stations of weather
on wireless sensor networks. This latter is able to capture by using machine learning algorithms.
temperature, light, and humidity values. The sensed data
3 Design of Air Quality Measurement
are then transferred to web page for monitoring.
In 2017, Kumar and Jasuja[17] designed a new system System
based on the internet of things technology by using In order to monitor the air and weather conditions, we
the Rasberry Pi card. The system aimed to evaluate air have implemented a new application that is illustrated
quality by measuring its parameters, such as temperature, in Fig. 1. Our application can capture both weather
monoxide and dioxide carbon, and air pressure and and air parameters. The realized framework includes
humidity. an Arduino card as a central management unit. Then, all

Fig. 1 Block diagram.

 Jamal Mabrouki et al.: IoT-Based Data Logger for Weather Monitoring Using Arduino-Based Wireless Sensor . . . 27

sensor and devices can be connected with it directly or Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is included
indirectly. The connected sensors are able to measure in this device[22] . After connecting to an access point,
weather and air information from their environment. our system will get an IP address automatically. This
The captured values are transmitted to Arduino card module plays an important role in our system. In fact,
for local processing. After a simple treatment, the it is the part that allows the system to transfer captured
Arduino card transmits the processed values to computer values to the extern word via the internet network. It
that includes database. The stored information can be also permits distance application to control the system
accessed remotely via page web. When an undesirable remotely.
value is detected, an alert message is transmitted to final (3) Sensors
user via email-message. The main components of the Our system contains various sensors, such as
proposed system are depicted in Fig. 1 and they are temperature, humidity, and CO2 sensors, which are
detailed in the following. illustrated in Fig. 3. These sensors will measure air
(1) Arduino UNO R3 card parameters distinctly, but not limited to temperature,
In our system, we have used the Arduino UNO card ozone (O3 / level, sulfur dioxide (SO2 / level, carbon
illustrated in Fig. 2a. As we can see, it is a small monoxide (CO) level, nitrogen dioxide (NO2 / level,
electronic card that integrates microcontroller. Arduino and relative humidity. This sensor gives the simple
UNO card is given the ability to be programmed for voltage that corresponds to a specific climatic factor.
receiving the sensed values by sensors and control the Subsequently, the Arduino integrated microcontroller
actuators. On the other hand, the sensors and actuator will convert this voltage into numerical values[23–25] .
can be connected to Arduino via the digital and analog
pin. Besides, the Arduino is powered via USB connector 4 Experimental Result and Discussion
or via Direct Current (DC) jack connector. Arduino With aims to evaluate our proposed system, we have
UNO card is linked with an integrated voltage regulator. done some experimental tests. Hence, after compiling
Hence, the power source for connecting has to be the program code source and downloading it in Arduino
between 5 and 12 V[21] . board, we have tested each parameter separately.
(2) Wi-Fi module (1) Humidity and temperature sensor experiment
In this application, we used the Wi-Fi module In our system, the sensor used for sensing the
ESP8266 as shown in Fig. 2b. The stack of Transmission humidity and temperature is DHT22 sensor. In order to

Fig. 2 (a) Arduino UNO card and (b) Wi-Fi module.

Fig. 3 Used sensors.

 28 Big Data Mining and Analytics, March 2021, 4(1): 25–32

monitor the humidity in given zone, we have performed detect the existence of ozone gas in the air, we have
this basic test: The DHT22 sensor was placed in an connected the ozone sensor to our system and then
extremely humid location, then we had noticed that the exposed it to an air that contains ozone gas. The recorded
system began to register various values of humidity. The data are displayed in Fig. 5. In our test, we have used
received values are exposed graphically in Fig. 4. the laminar flow chamber to product ozone gas. This
The result of this experiment is considered as a chamber is equipped with an Ultraviolet (UV) lamp that
demonstration that confirms the reaction of the sensor to is turned on after putting the sensor in the chamber. So,
the humidity levels. Consequently, it also shows that our the UV ray transforms the oxygen in the air on ozone.
system is efficient for monitoring the humidity remotely. In Fig. 5, we can observe that the graph is growing
On the other hand, we have done another simple by the time and the level of detected ozone is growing
test for surveying the temperature values. During this continually. However, this development is stable after
examination, we used a small flame to change the air 240 s.
temperature. Then, the sensor DHT22 was positioned (3) Nitrogen dioxide sensor experiment
near the flame to perceive the variation of the air The tests were carried out to verify the usefulness of
temperature. The obtained temperature measurement is the nitrogen detector in identifying the degree of NO2
illustrated in Fig. 4b in form of graph. The temperature gas perceptible all around, as shown in Fig. 6.
value was augmented from about 32 ıC at first to more To confirm its activity, the sensor was presented with
than 38 ıC. This change confirms the ability of the NO2 taken from a small vial. The vial is associated with
system to sense the various temperature values. a cone-shaped measurement object where a substance
(2) Ozone sensor experiment response occurred to frame the gaseous NO2 . To form
In order to evaluate the capability of our system to gaseous NO2 , a limited amount of sodium nitrite was
mixed with 1 mol/L corrosive hydrochloride to create

(a) Humidity
Fig. 5 Experimental result of ozone concentration in air.

(b) Temperature

Fig. 4 Experimental result of humidity and temperature

Fig. 6 Experimental result of NO2 concentration in air.
level in air.
 Jamal Mabrouki et al.: IoT-Based Data Logger for Weather Monitoring Using Arduino-Based Wireless Sensor . . . 29

gaseous NO2 with an earthy coloration.

NaNO2 C HCl ! NaCl C HNO2 .1/
2HNO2 ! NO C NO2 C H2 O .2/
2NO C O2 ! 2NO2 .3/
In this situation, HNO2 was not stable and was quickly
replaced by nitric oxide (NO), which on seeing oxygen,
framed the earth-coloured NO2 gas, as shown in Fig. 6.
The response of the preparation was at 0 s. As the
NO2 gas reaches the tank containing the sensor through
the association channel, the reading begins to advance
steadily by 55 s until the end of the test. In this way, the
sensor has the opportunity to determine the degree of Fig. 8 Experimental result of CO concentration in air.
NO2 and is functioning accurately.
extended to allow the sensor to be placed in a small
(4) Sulfur dioxide sensor experiment
housing attached to the outside air. The container is
The usefulness of the MQ-136 sensor for estimating
associated with a measurement object where a compound
the degree of SO2 in air was validated by a basic test
response occurs to produce CO gas. This has been placed
where the sensor was presented directly to the gas in
on a heater to preheat the response of the substance
a small container as shown in Fig. 7. Sulphur dioxide
inside.
was manufactured by mixing a portion of the sodium
The visualization of the detector was made on a
bisulphite with a small volume of 1 mol/L corrosive
screen and filmed in the frame. To create CO gas, a
hydrochloride. This step resulted in the rapid release
small volume of formic corrosive was integrated with
of dry SO2 into the kettle:
a small volume of sulfuric corrosive in a basin that
NaHSO3.s/CHCl.aq/ ! SO2.g/CNaCl.aq/CH2 O.l/ .4/ released dry and unscented CO after heating, so that
As a result of the SO2 , the MQ-136 sensor was slowly the accompanying recipe would specify the marvel.
expanded within 20 s after its introduction from 0 to H2 SO4 C HCOOH.l/ ! CO.g/ C H2 SO4
H2 O.l/ .5/
7010 6 . Since the synthetic response was constantly
The response command was given in a matter of
rejecting SO2 gas, the sensor reading rate remained high
moments. The drawing shows a perfect trough from the
until the end of the test, as shown in Fig. 7. This type
earliest starting point of the test to 30 s where a radical
of estimation showed that the MQ-136 sensor filled as
rise in the CO level occurred up to 37 s when the heated
planned.
gas reached the pot containing the detector. The sweep
(5) Carbon monoxide sensor experiment
was then set at a significant threshold until the end of
Figure 8 shows the scanning device for judging the
the test, as shown in Fig. 8. From this perspective, the
usefulness of the MQ-7 sensor in recognizing the degree
detector was able to recognize the CO level and operate
of CO gas in the air. The sensor cables have been
accurately.
(6) Experiment in the field
To demonstrate the functionality of the system, a
field experiment was conducted to measure pollutant
concentrations at the three sites with different traffic
volumes. The system was positioned near a low-traffic
(Site 1) and high-traffic (Site 3) road. Table 1 presents
the results of the experimental installation for obtaining
sub-Application Programming Interface (API) values in
low-traffic and high-traffic areas. The experiment was
conducted along a roadside near a housing and other area
next to the industrial area. Measurements were taken
every 30 times for one day. The measurements were
Fig. 7 Experimental result of SO2 concentration in air. recorded and saved in the system. Similarly, another
 30 Big Data Mining and Analytics, March 2021, 4(1): 25–32

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Jamal Mabrouki received the PhD degree Yousef Farhaoui received the PhD
in water science and technology from degree in computer security from Ibn
Faculty of Sciences, Mohamed V University Zohr University of Science, Morocco in
in Rabat in 2020. He is also an engineer in 2012. He is now a professor at Faculty of
environment and climate. He is working on Sciences and Techniques, Moulay Ismail
the project of migration and water and the University. His research interests include
role of water governance in migration policy e-learning, computer security, big data
in Africa with the cooperation between analytics, and business intelligence. He is a
MedYWat and World Bank. He is currently a researcher for member of various international associations. He has authored
the environment and climate program at ECOMED in Morocco, 4 books and many book chapters with reputed publishers, such
where he started the coordinator of the project adaptation of as Springer and IGI. He is served as a reviewer for IEEE, IET,
“citizens to climate change”. Springer, Inderscience, and Elsevier journals. He is also the
guest editor of many journals with Wiley, Springer, Inderscience,
etc. He has been the general chair, session chair, and panelist in
several conferences.
Mourade Azrour received the PhD degree
from Faculty of Sciences and Technologies,
Moulay Ismail University, Errachidia, Driss Dhiba received the PhD degree
Morocco in 2019, and the MS degree in agro-resources valorization from
in computer and distributed systems from Intstitut National Polytechnique de
Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zouhr University, Toulouse, Toulouse, France in 1995. He
Agadir, Morocco in 2014. He currently has been carrying out several research
works as a computer science professor at projects related to chemical engineering,
the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Sciences and water treatment and reuse, environment,
Technologies, Moulay Ismail University. His research interests biotechnology, fertilizers technologies,
include authentication protocol, computer security, Internet of trace elements recovery, and new products development. He
Things, and smart systems. He is a scientific committee member joined University Mohammed 6 Polytechnic (UM6P) in 2017
of numerous international conferences. He is also a reviewer as a science & technology adviser and he is currently the
of various scientific journals, such as International Journal of co-leader of Water & Climate Program at the International Water
Cloud Computing and International Journal of Cyber-Security Research Institute. His research interests include water treatment
and Digital Forensics (IJCSDF). techniques, environmental studies, and climate change studies.
32 Big Data Mining and Analytics, March 2021, 4(1): 25–32

Souad El Hajjaji received the PhD degree Research Centre on Water, Natural Resource, Environment
in material sciences from the National and Sustainable Development. Her research interests include
Polytechnique Institute of Toulouse in water quality, water pollution, wastewater treatment processes
1994 and the doctorate from University (adsorption, photocatalysis, etc.), innovative technologies, solid
Mohammed V University in Rabat, waste valorisation, modelling, climate change, etc.
Morocco in 1999. Currently, she is a full
professor at Faculty of Sciences, Mohamed
V University in Rabat and the head of