PANJIM: Beginning with the 2017 monsoon, the State will receive more accurate rainfall forecasts and wind velocity, as the installation of the indigenous high-tech Doppler radar at the meteorological observatory, at Altinho is in process. The facility will replace the two-decade old cyclonic detection radar.
The Chinese-made radar, which had been earlier shifted out of the State for security reasons by the Union Defence Ministry and Ministry of Earth Science in 2012, is now in the process of being installed and the final testing was conducted last week.
“The new Doppler weather radar is going to start operating very soon at the centre which will improve the forecast quality and new forecasting avenues will be started,” N Haridasan, Assistant Meteorologist said.
He said that final testing is being done by meteorologists from IMD Delhi. “The test running of the radar and the training of the officers and staff will be conducted during the next two weeks, before the formal inauguration and commissioning of the radar,” Haridasan said.
A state-of-the-art Doppler radar, costing Rs 5 crore, was supposed to be commissioned in 2010. With the new radar there is the possibility of forecasting the weather or wind even two to three days in advance. Right now the earliest forecast is of 24 hours earlier.
The decision to install the sophisticated equipment was taken following the death of around 70 fishermen from the State as a result of cyclone Phyan in 2009. In the absence of the radar, IMD had failed to warn the trawler owners about the coming storm.
The Met department’s Altinho unit had de-commissioned the old radar in December 2008.
