Delhi to get 50 automatic weather stations to improve real-time data collection

New Delhi, Jan 15: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Ministry of Earth Sciences are working on installing 50 automatic weather stations across Delhi to strengthen city-level weather monitoring and improve real-time data collection, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.
Addressing the IMD’s 151st foundation day celebrations here, Singh, the Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, said the Singh the ministry was exploring a separate rainfall monitoring programme involving farmers, panchayats and the agricultural sector to further improve ground-level observations.
Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) are observation devices that automatically collect, store and transmit weather information.
The IMD and the ministry are planning to install 50 automatic weather stations across Delhi this year as part of a larger plan to set up around 200 such stations in major cities, including Chennai and Mumbai, with the first phase expected to start here in the national capital, Singh said.
The initiative would significantly strengthen city-level weather monitoring and improve real-time data collection, he added.
On the occasion, IMD launched a digital platform — KRIPA (Krishi Advisory based on Location-specific weather Prediction) — designed to deliver impact-based agrometeorological advisories tailored to a farmer’s location, crop type and growth stage.
KRIPA automatically detects the farmer’s location or allows manual selection of the village or panchayat. It provides a five-day forecast of key weather parameters, which are dynamically compared with crop- and state-specific thresholds. (PTI)