New Delhi, May 29 (IANS). Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh on Friday inaugurated India’s first ‘Skycast System’ at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Its purpose is to improve aviation weather monitoring and reduce disruptions caused by fog.
Jitendra Singh said that till now only 18 such advanced systems have been installed globally and India has become the 19th country to install the system.
A statement from the Ministry of Earth Sciences said that the second such system will be installed at Jewar airport, after which it will be installed at other airports also.
Dr Jitendra Singh credited the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mission Mausam’ for making such future-oriented weather infrastructure possible.
He said SkyCast will make a big difference in aviation safety by providing real-time information to pilots and aviation operators during severe weather conditions.
Flight disruptions caused by fog and turbulence will be significantly reduced and the system will provide advance warning to the crew and pilots even within a short period of about three hours.
This way, they can decide on the safest time to land and avoid unnecessary diversions, cancellations and delays.
SkyCast integrates multiple atmospheric observation technologies for fog monitoring, turbulence detection, and high-impact weather forecasting. The system integrates state-of-the-art atmospheric remote sensing technologies, including radar wind profiler, SODAR, microwave radiometer, ground-based fog aerosol spectrometer (GFAS) and CL61 lidar-based ceilometer.
He said the facility will strengthen surveillance and warning capabilities on the runway, making take-offs and landings safer.
The system combines a radar wind profiler, SODAR, microwave radiometer, ground-based fog aerosol spectrometer (GFAS) and CL61 lidar-based ceilometer to provide real-time measurements of fog, aerosols, turbulence, humidity and visibility for pilots, airlines and air traffic managers.
At the heart of the system is an advanced boundary layer radar wind profiler, which continuously measures wind speed, wind direction, turbulence, vertical velocity and boundary layer dynamics up to approximately 3 kilometers above the airport.
These parameters are extremely important during takeoff and landing of aircraft, where accurate atmospheric information helps in improving safety.
Apart from aviation, Skycast observations will also be helpful in advanced forecast models, artificial intelligence-based decision support systems, urban weather forecasting, pollution management, transportation advisories and disaster preparedness initiatives.
–IANS
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