Implementation of the pure-rotational Raman (PRR) lidar method for simultaneous measurement of atmospheric temperature, humidity, and aerosol extinction and backscatter coefficients is reported. The isolation of two wavelength domains of the PRR spectrum and the suppression of the elastically scattered light is carried out by a double-grating polychromator. Experiments involving elastic backscatter from dense clouds and a solid target confirm the

The impact of human activities on the global climate may lead to large disruptions of the economic, social and political status quo in the middle and long term. Understanding the dynamics of the Earth's climate is thus of paramount importance and one of the major scientific challenges of our time. The estimation of the relative contribution of the many components (interacting each other) of the Earth's climate system requires observation and continuous