New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) The Union government aims to install 87 new Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs) to enhance the accuracy of forecasting data, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
The new DWRs, covering the entire nation under Mission Mausam, will be installed in two to three years, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
The systems will also boost the country’s weather monitoring capabilities.
“The newly launched Mission Mausam is intended to augment the DWR network across the country for complete radar coverage and to enhance the accuracy of the weather forecasting system,” Dr Singh said.
He further informed that the “supply order for 34 nos. DWRs have already been placed”. In addition, “the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has approved the procurement of 53 more DWRs”, Singh said.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has a high-end DWR network that utilises well-proven world-class technologies like dual polarisation, solid-state power amplifier (SSPA), etc.
While DWR networks do not provide a forecast or prediction of rain, they can monitor high to very high rainfall over a location.
“The DWR observations are available every ten minutes in the form of cloud images and the velocity of winds over the region under the radar range,” the Minister said.
“It helps monitor and issue a nowcast of associated heavy rainfall activities at a very short duration of up to 1 hour,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr Singh also cited the increasing annual temperature due to climate change.
Its “impact is reflected in the rising frequency and intensity of heatwaves in various parts of the globe, including India”, he said.
An analysis by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also shown “an increasing trend in the frequency of heatwaves in the heat core zone covering northern plains and central India”.
In light of these, Dr Singh highlighted the various initiatives undertaken by the government with the help of states to reduce the causes of heat waves in the coming years.
This includes the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and the State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC).
In addition, India has also taken a proactive role in fostering international collaborations through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure.
“India is committed to pursuing low-carbon strategies for development and is actively pursuing them, as per national circumstances,” Dr Singh said.
He noted that the monitoring and early warning systems, conducted by the IMD and other researchers, minimised the “loss of life and property during extreme weather events, including heat waves”.
The government also implemented Heat Action Plans (HAPs) in 23 states that are prone to heatwave conditions.
Other measures to counter heatwaves’ impact on crop output include “strengthening of buffer stock of essential food items and periodic open market releases, subsidised retail sale of items like rice, wheat flour, and pulses in specified outlets, easing imports of essential food items through rationalisation of duties, prevention of hoarding through imposition/revision and monitoring of stock limits”, he said.
