Kozhikode: Following the recent landslides at Chooralmala and Mundakkai, a new radar is set to be installed in Wayanad district to improve weather forecasting. The S-band radar, established by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), will enhance weather predictions over a range of 150 kilometres.
The location for the radar installation has been identified, with formalities, including soil testing, pending.
The radar will benefit districts including Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Malappuram. Once operational, it will provide weather forecasts every ten minutes.
Currently, similar radars are installed in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, with Kozhikode and Wayanad falling under the coverage of the Kochi radar.
Wayanad has experienced increasingly heavy rainfall since 2018, exacerbated by climate change. On the day of the landslides—July 29—Chooralmala and Mundakkai received up to 327 millimetres of rain, leading to the tragic incident. Unfortunately, existing government systems failed to alert residents in time.
Despite having six automatic weather stations and 200 rain gauges from the Hume Centre, current measures only provide day-to-day rainfall data. The new radar will allow for tracking rain cloud movements and predicting extreme rainfall events, enabling officials to issue timely warnings.
Initially, the radar was planned for installation in Kozhikode, but concerns over signal reception due to the Western Ghats prompted the decision to place it in Wayanad.
Advantages of the radar:
- Determines water particles and droplets in clouds
- Predicts rainfall intensity
- Tracks rain cloud movement
- Measures wind speed and direction
Published: 21 Sept 2024, 08:59 am IST
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