Mumbai to get location specific weather details from this monsoon

In a bid to be better prepared this monsoon, System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) will install 15 additional automatic weather systems (AWS) in Mumbai and one in Panvel. These will provide location-specific weather details, which should help Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) be better prepared in case of extremely heavy rainfall.

“An AWS provides information related to rainfall, wind speed, temperature, humidity and wind direction. The 16 new AWS do not have air quality sensors and will not be able to provide air quality index (AQI), but can give location specific weather details this monsoon,” said Gufran Beig, project director, SAFAR.

Mumbai already has 10 AWS spread across the city. Officials from the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said they had installed an additional 15 automatic weather systems (AWS) in Mumbai and one in Panvel over the past year. In addition to the 25 AWS in Mumbai, the IMD has its weather stations at Colaba and Santacruz. According to the IMD, Mumbai has one of the largest weather monitoring networks in the country.

However, the IMD has not been able to provide inadequate warning and advisory in 2017. On August 29, it predicted extremely heavy rainfall in two locations, but the city came to a grinding halt because it received over 200mm of rain at over 20 locations.

This year, BMC and IMD have been at loggerheads. BMC had asked IMD to provide warnings specific to an area, time and intensity of rainfall. It also asked the IMD to ensure the Doppler Radar was in working condition and issue ‘de-warning’ messages. A senior civic official said, “IMD had said that they cannot provide warning specific to an area.”

IMD’s deputy director general for the western region, KS Hosalikar, said, “We are already providing weather information daily, and during monsoon, four-hour to 24-hour location specific updates will be provided to BMC. The data will be indicative of any remedial actions necessary if excess rain is being recorded at any particular location. This data will also be available in the public domain through SAFAR’s website,” he said.