A Doppler Weather Radar (DWR), the first in Maharashtra, has been installed here for accurate predictions of monsoons, cyclones and other weather-related phenomenon.

The DWR was installed on Sunday near the Babasaheb Ambedkar International airport in the city. It is the third such radar in the country.

The modern S-Band doppler radar here has been provided by a Chinese company and is capable of weather surveillance up to 500 km. It will cover the entire Vidarbha region, parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, said Retired Air Vice-Marshal, Mr Ajit Tyagi, Director-General of India Meteorological Centre.

It provides imageries derived from volume scan depicting location of clouds, expected rainfall from these clouds, horizontal winds and wind shear. The imageries are very good for weather analysis and forecasting, he said.

The DWR provides round-the-clock automatic observation of cloud mass and rain patches with updates every 10 minutes and will prove to be a boon for farmers who will not have to look to the sky for rains and clouds and henceforth will receive bulletins on their mobiles.

Plans are afoot to send feed to the Central Weather Bureau and then to super computer which will transmit data through Internet to farmers about accuracy of weather forecast, Mr Tyagi said.

A DWR provides various meteorological, hydrological and aviation products, which are useful for forecasters in estimating the storm’s centre, fixing its position and predicting its future path. Besides, the Met staff can view thunderstorms, hailstorm, heavy rainfall in greater detail.

Maharashtra’s second DWR, manufactured indigenously by the Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd is being installed later this month in Colaba observatory in Mumbai. It will cover the remaining distance between Nagpur and the metropolis.

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