Agartala: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) set up digital weather data monitoring and processing system, Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at Agartala on Tuesday, the second in northeast and 4th in India.
Director General of IMD AVM Dr Ajit Tyagi formally launched DWR operation at Agartala airport and said the department had spent Rs 11 crore for setting up the radar through Beijing Metstar Radar Co Ltd, a venture of China Meteorological Administration and US-based Lockheed Martin. IMD has assigned Metstar to set up DWRs at Mumbai, Delhi, Agartala, Mohanbari(Guwahati), Paradip, Bhopal, Nagpur, Patna, Lucknow, Karaikal, Patiala and Goa for supplying, installing and commissioning in 2008.
Dr Tyagi said DWR had an edge over other weather radar systems because it could measure the speed of storm or cyclone. The existing radars are used to provide information only on the range of a storm whereas a DWR system provides data to accurately estimate an approaching storm’s centre and intensity, fixing its position and predicting its path.
The DWR provides round-the-clock automatic observation of cloud mass and rain patches with update every 10 minutes and will be a boon for farmers, who will not have to look to the sky for rains and clouds and henceforth will receive bulletins on their mobiles.
A DWR provides meteorological, hydrological and aviation products which are useful for forecasters in estimating the storm’s centre, fixing its position and predicting its future path. (UNI)