New Doppler radar in Iloilo also seen to improve farming

THE DEPARTMENT of Science and Technology (DOST) inaugurated in Iloilo City its newest Doppler radar that is seen to not only boost the country’s weather-forecasting capabilities but also help guide farmers in managing their crops.

Science Secretary Mario Montejo said the Doppler radar and synoptic station at the Western Visayas Agricultural Research Center in Jaro district in Iloilo would help the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) provide more accurate weather data for the Visayas that would ensure the safety of communities from typhoons and floods.

“[It] will provide more accurate forecasting to enable our farmers, our communities to prepare ahead of time when there is a coming typhoon because this will give us a detailed data to predict the amount of rainfall in particular areas at a particular given time,” Montejo said in a statement.

He said “nowcasting” would be made possible because the Doppler radar is capable of scanning and monitoring rain clouds as far as the provinces of Sorsogon and Masbate in the north and Surigao and Davao in the south. This means authorities will be able to track down a typhoon at least three hours before it hits land, giving local governments time to evacuate residents, especially in vulnerable communities.

Montejo said that apart from weather monitoring, the Iloilo Doppler radar inaugurated last week would provide data sets, which would be helpful in managing crop planting “so farmers will know weather conditions suitable for planting, applying fertilizer and harvesting.”

He said the radar, the 13th of 15 radars set to be inaugurated before the end of the year, would help Pagasa enhance its capability to mitigate the impact of El Niño by finding rain clouds suitable for cloud seeding. Through this technology, he said, water supply for agriculture and irrigation can be assured.