Chinese radar for forecast

Ranchi, May 7: The accuracy of weather forecast for Bihar-Jharkhand is all set to reach a new high with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) setting up a Doppler radar at its Patna centre to enable digital imaging of the eastern region’s cloud cover.

The equipment, being imported from China at a cost of Rs 15 crore that is inclusive of Rs 3 crore installation charges, will help read weather developments over a radius of 400km.

Thus, stationed at Patna, the radar will map cloud formation over Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of Bengal.

“If everything goes according to plan, the radar will be in place by the end of December this year,” said A.K. Das, the deputy director-general, meteorology (DDGM), of the regional Met office in Calcutta.

Met officials said three centres — Paradip (Orissa), Agartala (Tripura) and Patna — were being upgraded with Doppler radar to read the nature, intensity and height of clouds. “A five-storey building is under construction in Patna to house the radar,” said A. Chanda, the director of Patna Met office.

At present, the Doppler radar is stationed at Calcutta, Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Sriharikota. The IMD also plans to equip Ranchi with one of these powerful weather devices in the second phase.

The Doppler radar is primarily used to locate precipitation, calculate motion, estimate type (rain, snow, hail etc.) and forecast future position and intensity. The radar is capable of detecting the motion of raindrops too. It sends out electromagnetic waves into the atmosphere. They strike particles — like moisture and sand in the air — and return a signal to the radar. As a result, a digital image of the weather condition of a particular region is created, enabling more accurate weather forecast.

Source : The Telegraph