IMD scouting for land to set up wind profiler radars in Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram under ‘Mission Mausam’

The India Meteorological Department plans to install wind profiler radar systems in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. These systems will measure winds at several heights above the ground. The information can improve understanding of monsoon behaviour, turbulence, atmospheric disturbances, and thunderstorms.

The locations were selected for different reasons. Thiruvananthapuram is described as the main entry point for the southwest monsoon in Kerala. Kozhikode was chosen because it is among the areas that receive heavy rainfall during the monsoon season. Together, the sites can provide valuable observations from important parts of the State.

The IMD has officially asked the State government to allot land. Discussions are also taking place with government departments and universities. About one and a half acres will be needed in Kozhikode, while Thiruvananthapuram will require one acre. The systems are expected to provide readings every 15 minutes.

A wind profiler radar is equipment that observes winds above the ground. It measures two basic features: how fast the wind moves and which direction it travels. Instead of recording conditions only at the surface, it examines several elevations through the atmosphere.

The equipment can use radar signals, sound waves, or lasers. These signals interact with the moving air, allowing the system to estimate wind conditions at different heights. The readings are taken at each kilometre, reaching through the troposphere, which extends roughly 8 to 17 kilometres above mean sea level.

This vertical information is useful because weather systems change with height. The IMD expects the planned profilers to provide data every 15 minutes. Such frequent observations can show changing wind patterns linked with the monsoon, turbulence, atmospheric disturbances, and thunderstorms.

The planned wind profilers will observe winds through the troposphere. The article places this layer between 8 and 17 kilometres above mean sea level. Measurements will be made at each kilometre, giving the IMD a sequence of wind observations from lower to higher parts of the atmosphere.

The radar is expected to provide fresh data every 15 minutes. This frequent schedule can help reveal whether winds are changing quickly or steadily. It can also support observations of monsoon variations, wind turbulence, atmospheric disturbances, and thunderstorms.

The two installations will need different amounts of land. Kozhikode will require around one and a half acres for its equipment. Thiruvananthapuram will require one acre. The IMD has communicated its request for land to the Kerala government, with discussions reportedly continuing with departments and universities.

Wind speed and direction at different heights provide a moving picture of the monsoon’s structure. Scientists can compare the vertical pattern over time instead of relying only on conditions at the ground. Changes in that pattern can indicate that the monsoon circulation is developing, becoming stronger, weakening, or retreating.

For example, a profiler may record winds at each kilometre through the troposphere and repeat the observations every 15 minutes. Comparing those readings can show shifts in the height, direction, and strength of the winds. A sustained change may signal a new phase of monsoon activity, while a reversal or decline can indicate weakening or withdrawal.

The article says these data will be used to understand the onset, strengthening, weakening, and withdrawal of the monsoon, along with its variations. The planned observations in Kerala would add local information from a key entry point and a heavy-rainfall area.

Additional wind-profiler data can strengthen the observations used to understand and model weather. The instruments will measure wind speed and direction at multiple heights, including through the troposphere. This gives forecasters information about atmospheric conditions that surface observations alone cannot provide.

The data could help identify monsoon changes, turbulence, atmospheric disturbances, and thunderstorms. Readings every 15 minutes would show how quickly conditions are evolving. Information from Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode would also add observations from a monsoon entry point and a heavy-rainfall area.

Mission Mausam aims to enhance India’s weather and climate observations, understanding, modelling, and forecasting. The stated goal is to produce better, more useful, accurate, and timely services. The article does not specify particular public services, but improved forecasts could support the broader effort to make India more weather-ready and climate-smart.

Mission Mausam is a Union government initiative under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Launched in 2024, it seeks to “exponentially enhance” India’s weather and climate observations. It also focuses on improving understanding, modelling, and forecasting of atmospheric and climate conditions.

The wind profilers planned for Kerala fit this mission by supplying regular measurements of wind speed and direction at different heights. Their data can help study monsoon phases and variations, as well as turbulence, atmospheric disturbances, and thunderstorms. The planned systems are expected to send readings every 15 minutes.

The mission’s stated aim is to deliver weather and climate services that are better, more useful, accurate, and timely. In that way, it supports India’s goal of becoming “weather-ready” and “climate-smart.” The Kerala installations would add new observations to this wider national effort.

The troposphere is the lowest major layer of Earth’s atmosphere, where most weather occurs. The stratosphere is the layer above the troposphere. The article places the troposphere between about 8 and 17 kilometres above mean sea level and mentions a stratosphere-troposphere radar already operating at Cusat.

Wind profilers observe how air moves at different heights. That matters because wind speed and direction can vary sharply between the surface and higher levels. A vertical sequence of readings can show changing atmospheric structure, including patterns associated with monsoon activity, turbulence, thunderstorms, and other disturbances.

The planned systems will collect readings through the troposphere at each kilometre, with data expected every 15 minutes. This should give the IMD more regular information for understanding monsoon onset, strengthening, weakening, and withdrawal. The article identifies the layers but does not provide a fuller technical definition of the stratosphere.