CHENNAI: Chennai has become home to India’s first Urban Weather Testbed and Aerosol Observatory, a major step toward strengthening real-time weather forecasting and climate research in urban environments.
The advanced facility was inaugurated by Dr M Ravichandran, the secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Ramapuram, on Wednesday.
Established by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, the observatory operates under the central government’s flagship ‘Mission Mausam’.
Described as the first comprehensive urban observatory of its kind in India, the facility is equipped with around 15 high-end instruments to generate precise meteorological data. Scientists will study aerosol characteristics, including particle size and movement, and examine interactions such as sea-land breeze transitions that influence Chennai’s local weather.
The project also includes plans for 100 Automatic Weather Stations, advanced X-band radars, and vertical profiling systems like lidars and wind profilers. These technologies aim to significantly improve real-time weather casting and early warning systems for extreme weather events.
An MoU between IITM and SRMIST was signed during the event, alongside the launch of the Centre for Atmospheric Science Research and Innovation (CASRI), marking a boost to collaborative climate research and disaster preparedness in India.