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Indigenously manufactured
Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) using 3D-printing technology have been
developed by Indian scientists.
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This initiative is part
of the government's ambitious Mission Monsoon, a ₹2,000 crore program aimed at
improving India's weather monitoring and forecasting capabilities.
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The first batch of these
next-generation weather stations is scheduled to be installed in Delhi from
February.
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The project is being led
by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune under the Ministry
of Earth Sciences.
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Expansion of weather
observation networks is expected to eliminate data gaps and improve local-level
forecasts.
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Over the next six months,
AWS and radar installations are expected to expand rapidly in cities like
Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai.
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Parameters such as
temperature, wind, humidity and rainfall will be recorded at a greater number
of locations.
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The new AWS units will be
solar-powered and are designed to reduce operational costs.
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Currently, the IMD
operates more than 1,008 automatic weather stations, 547 manual surface
observatories, and 1,382 automatic rain gauges across the country.
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However, scientists have
long pointed out that the density of the existing network is insufficient for
highly localized forecasts, especially for urban microclimates and challenging
terrains such as remote Himalayan regions.
