Govt working to better predict weather and climate events, control rains
Mint. The plan involves launching at least one satellite in collaboration with ISRO for weather profiling in each state, and increasing by ten-fold, the number of observation stations, rain gauges, radiosonde (a meteorological device that measures atmospheric parameters and transmits it back to ground stations) and wind profilers deployed in the country.
Apart from that, the ministry is also looking to develop expertise where it can deploy aircraft for cloud intervention and observation, Ravichandran explained. Ravichandran added that as the country grapples with extreme weather events, including severe and long heatwaves and uneven and excessive rainfall, the ministry's also plans to incorporate artificial intelligence with numerical models in its forecast models to have better indication of such conditions in the future.
For context, the ministry of earth sciences is tasked with providing forecasting services for weather, climate, ocean and coastal state, hydrology, seismology, and natural hazards. It is also mandated to explore and harness marine living and non-living resources in a sustainable manner for the country and to explore the three poles of the Earth (Arctic, Antarctic and Himalayas).
The ministry also primarily runs two schemes—the Prithvi programme and the deep-sea mission. The new project or programme will be in addition to these.
According to Ravichandra, not only are there more frequent extreme weather events, but even normal seasonal and climactic conditions have changed significantly, which make them extreme. According to him, earlier, clouds, especially during the monsoon season, used to be spread across a larger area, but now they are small because they hold more water, which translates into more
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