M Ravichandran, secretary of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, informed PTI that his ministry had been in discussions with the civil aviation ministry on the matter, and offering weather data can be “made mandatory for domestic airlines within a year”.
The authorities is planning to make it mandatory for domestic airlines to share weather data captured by plane throughout takeoff and touchdown with the IMD, which senior officers say will considerably improve forecasting capabilities.
M Ravichandran, secretary of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, informed PTI that his ministry had been in discussions with the civil aviation ministry on the matter, and offering weather data can be “made mandatory for domestic airlines within a year”.
“It has to be mandatory… It will not only be very useful for airline operations but also for weather forecasts everywhere,” he stated. The earth sciences ministry secretary stated weather forecasts depended largely on the variety of observations collected.
“The more observations we have, the better our predictions can be. It is similar to an exit poll — if you gather data from more places, you will get a clearer picture. In the same way, we aim to collect information on temperature, humidity, and wind wherever possible,” he stated.
Vertical weather observations (obtained from plane and weather balloons) are extra essential than floor observations as a result of they supply a whole image of the environment, not simply what is occurring on the floor, Ravichandran stated.
Weather techniques akin to storms kind and evolve within the environment, the place temperature, humidity, and wind situations at totally different altitudes play a key function, he stated.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) launches weather balloons from 50-60 stations to accumulate essential data on temperature, humidity and wind at numerous altitudes.
Aircraft additionally report weather data throughout takeoff and touchdown. This data is transmitted to the bottom in real-time and built-in into forecasting fashions. Unlike the restricted variety of weather balloons, 1000’s of plane can relay data.
Ravichandran stated all plane working on worldwide routes offered weather data as a result of it was required by regulation. However, not all domestic airlines accomplish that as it isn’t mandatory for them. He stated many international locations had made it mandatory for their airlines to present this data and India wanted to have an analogous mechanism.
“The aircraft are already gathering the data. It would be a different issue if they were not doing so,” he stated. “Air connectivity is increasing tremendously in India, with each state having 10 to 15 airports. Our prediction capability will improve significantly if all domestic airlines start providing this crucial data,” he added.
Aircraft present weather observations utilizing sensors and devices put in on the airplane, that are sometimes a part of onboard techniques collectively referred to as Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) or different superior techniques.
One main benefit of accumulating weather data from plane is their skill to present data from areas the place weather balloons are not often or by no means launched, akin to over oceans or in distant areas. Established in 1875, the IMD will flip 150 on January 15.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA workers and is printed from PTI)
