Defunct radar failed to detect early arrival of S-W monsoon
Mumbai’s only Doppler weather radar (DWR), operated by the India Meteorological Department, remained defunct “due to technical glitches” on Wednesday when south-west monsoon made an early entry into Mumbai, officials said.
Situated at Navy Nagar in Colaba, the DWR, installed in 2010, is the only radar in the city but has been out of commission since May 16, a day before cyclone Tauktae hit.
Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of meteorology at IMD said DWR was defunct owing to technical glitches. “We are working on it and the radar is likely to be operational within
MUMBAI:
a week or two,” said Mohapatra
KS Hosalikar, head, surface instrument division, Climate Research & Services, IMD, directed queries to Jayanta Sarkar, director, IMD, Mumbai. However, despite repeated attempts, Sarkar did not respond to calls or messages.
“Wednesday’s event is a perfect example of why we need a radar. From satellite pictures, we could see clouds formation... In the absence of a Doppler radar, it becomes difficult for forecasters to track clouds, the direction in which they are moving and the estimated rainfall over different areas,” said Akshay Deoras, an independent meteorologist and PHD student at the University of Reading, England.
This is not the first time that the instrument, used for tracking clouds and forecasting weather patterns, has been inoperable at a crucial moment. On December 4, 2017, when Cyclone Ockhi brushed past the Mumbai coast, the radar was not functional. The radar was also not functional on multiple days during extreme rainfall events in June and July 2019, and also on June 1, 2020, about 48 hours before Cyclone Nisarga made landfall.
M S Reddy, former vice chairperson of the National Disaster Management Authority, said there was a pressing need for setting up at least two more DWRS. “... DWRS give us a lead time of three to six hours and tell us the temporal and spatial variation of rainfall for different areas...,” said Reddy.