India Meteorological Department to upgrade forecasting facility by June 15

K S Hosalikar, Deputy Director General, Western Region , IMD. (Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), Western Region, is gearing up to upgrade its forecasting facility by June 15. For this, it is setting up a video wall in the forecasting room where the forecasters would be able to access live satellite and radar images among others without switching on their computers. “The state-of-the-art video wall will be connected to high-end computers and have high-end display. The equipment will cost Rs 1 crore apart from other expenses,” said K S Hosalikar, deputy director general of western region, IMD.

“Currently, we cannot see the satellite or radar image unless we open the computer. But now, there will be a series of display options with the video wall in front. It will show satellite and radar images, rainfall data and weather models. These will be live updates and not even a signal will be missed,” he added.

The IMD had installed a Disdrometer at the Santacruz observatory 10 days ago. “Apart from measuring rainfall, its intensity and its drop size directly calibers the warnings issued by the Doppler Radar at the Colaba observatory. This is different from the regular rain guages, which only measure the rainfall,” said Hosalikar.

As part of their preparations for the monsoons, the 28 automatic weather stations (AWS) in the city have been inspected, upgraded and put on dual transmission mode.

“Earlier, these were only on satellite and we would get one-hour data. Now, we have put these on GPRS as well and can get data at 10-minute intervals. With rainfall data it helps, as sometimes heavy rainfall lasts only for 10 minutes and it can be well captured with GPRS. All the stations have been updated,” said Hosalikar.

Further, the IMD Western Region is conducting workshops for different stakeholders.

“The western region might have held the highest number of workshops with at least 10 to 12 sessions for the users of our data. This includes the NDRF, Central Railways and fishermen… and six workshops for state government officials at different places… The Railways has said that if it gets warning in advance of 24 hours, it can plan trips to ensure that commuters do not face difficulties. We will also hold a workshop with BMC on how to use our products and how to read our website,” Hosalikar said.

On Doppler Radar that faced technical issues last year, he said: “We have made all efforts to prepare for the Doppler Radar but it is a huge system and can develop issues. Some of the issues can be solved locally. We have the expertise but sometimes we have to approach the company that manufactured the radar. At that time there may be a delay of a few days. But we have satellite imagery to help us locate the heavy rainfall pockets.”