Cloud observation exercise takes off

An eight-seater modified aircraft Piper Shine II carrying IITM scientist Dr Mahesh Kumar and various instruments that observe cloud microphysics ad aerosol and trace gases was flagged off by Dr Shailesh Nayak,secretary,Union Ministry of Earth Sciences around 12 noon.

Explaining the importance of this experiments,Nayak said Gujarat,Maharashtra,Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh conduct cloud seeding — a technique to trigger rain. “However,at least 200 crore is spent by these states in the process without having the basic data of which cloud should be seeded and which one naturally has the potential for precipitation. This experiment will help us know exactly which cloud to seed,thus considerably reducing the overall cost of cloud seeding,” he said.

“The aircraft reached up to 15,000 feet and scientists could gather good cloud data on its flight on Sunday,” said Dr Jeevanprakash Kulkarni,programme manager for this experiment. He said that partner organisations from the country like Indian Metrology Department will keep a record of ground base observations. “At one flight,the aircraft is expected to cover 500 km. However,it will be flexible depending on the cloud structures,” Kulkarni said.

Up till now,clouds were observed either from the satellite (clouds’ upper surface) or from the ground (clouds’ lower base) — both of which have their limitations. “However,this is a landmark project where the aircraft travels inside a cloud to study its properties,” said B N Goswami,Director,IITM. He said that if need be,the scientists will also go for vertical sections of the cloud to study the details. “We shall complete 200 hours of flying this monsoon. The process will be repeated in the coming years,” Goswami said. The cloud seeding observations will also be used modeling the rainfall processes that will improve predictions,Goswami said.

The data will be collected and analysed at IITM. However,various other organisations,including University of Pune,Cochin University,Indian Institute of Science -Bangalore and Physical research Laboratory-Ahmedabad,will contribute in the analysis and study.

On Monday,the aircraft will take another flight in Pune before going to Pathankot,Gorakhpur and then to Rajasthan at the end of this month. The project will cover eight air force bases in the country including Nagpur,Guwahati and Bangalore and southern part of India next month.

24×7 weather forecast channel
Speaking about the IMD’s plan to launch 24×7 weather forecast channel,Shailesh Nayak,secretary,Ministry of Earth Sciences said the government is in the process of preparing various products that will be ready-to-air. He said that the first-level products like predictions with respect to temperature,comparative analysis and so on will be ready by July this year. “However,being a commercial venture,the discussions are taking longer. Nevertheless,we are quite serious as far as Doordarshan is concerned,” he said.