IMD plans real-time weather forecast for Games venues

Weather may not be able to play a spoilsport during the Commonwealth Games next year as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is planning to issue real-time forecast to the event venues.

The age-old instruments of measurement in the capital and surrounding areas are all set to make way for automatic weather stations (AWS) which will help the IMD to venture into nowcasting — providing weather forecasts every hour.

Sixty AWS are being set up across the National Capital Region (NCR) which currently has only three such state-of-the-art weather observation systems.

“The most updated and accurate weather forecast in nowcast range scale will be provided to all 14 venues and training camps during the Commonwealth Games,” IMD Director General Ajit Tyagi told a news agency in an interview.

The weather forecast will be specific to a particular venue, keeping in mind the climatic requirements of the event to be held there.

The 60 new AWS will help organisers of the games with detailed weather information for each venue.

“The new automatic weather stations are data collection platforms that will provide information instantly based on Numerical Weather Prediction models to provide short and medium term forecast,” Tyagi said.

Ten of the 60 proposed weather stations will be in place before this monsoon season which begins in the capital from July one, Tyagi said.

Accurate weather reports for the next few hours would help the Games organisers to plan contingency measures in advance.

“The AWSs will provide minute information that are crucial for specific events like wind speed and dew deposition for cycling, wind direction for athletics, so that the organisers may adjust the timing and venue, if need be,” Tyagi said.

The mesoscale — medium range models — are proposed to be updated every hour by assimilating the latest data for providing nowcast, he said.

A Doppler Radar is expected to be installed at Palam this September which would give useful information related to hailstorm and thunderstorm, he said, adding that the IMD also has plans to install wind profilers and sensors.

All the venues as well as open spaces in the capital and NCR will have automatic weather stations (AWS) and various schools, colleges, defence establishments and municipal grounds have been chosen for installation, Tyagi said.

The Commonwealth Games venues will have display systems to disseminate the latest weather information instantly, Tyagi said.

Category: Sports