The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced the launch of Urban Meteorological Services for 50 cities by next year.
A similar service was introduced in Delhi last year, across 13 locations in the national capital where a number of weather parameters are recorded and used for issuing localised weather forecasts and warnings. “We will be launching Urban Meteorological Services over 50 cities by next year. In cities, there are urban heat islands which can play a contributory factor in regulating weather parameters, like temperature,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of IMD.
In cities, there are localized heat exposures over highly urbanised areas and these have been found to record higher day temperatures than other locations with greenery and open spaces. For example, Ridge, Sports Complex, Pitampura and Mungeshwar areas remain hotter than Lodhi Road or Palam in Delhi.
In Pune city, Pashan is among the cooler localities as compared to Chinchwad or Magarpatta.
“Urban meteorology processes are completely different than meteorology processes in countryside areas,” said another IMD official. The IMD chief also said that efforts are underway to collect socio-economic data, along with details of schools, parks and hospitals. “The data will be collated onto a GIS-based platform and can be used while issuing location-specific forecasts within the city.”
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