NEW DELHI: The government is planning to mandate that domestic airlines share weather data gathered by aircraft during takeoffs and landings with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a step aimed at improving the accuracy of weather forecasts.
At present, the IMD depends on weather balloons launched from 50-60 stations nationwide to collect essential data on temperature, humidity, and wind speed at different altitudes. However, the data from over 6,000 daily takeoffs and landings by domestic airlines could greatly expand the available information for weather models.
M Ravichandran, Secretary of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, confirmed to PTI that his ministry is in discussions with the civil aviation ministry, and plans to make the sharing of weather data mandatory within a year. He stressed that the accuracy of weather forecasts is largely determined by the amount of data collected.
With new airports being developed across the country, Ravichandran noted that this initiative would provide the IMD with data from a broader geographical area, enabling more localized and precise weather predictions.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Dense fog covered several areas of North India, reducing visibility and temperatures, and affecting both train and flight operations. At Guwahati’s Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, flights were delayed as visibility was reduced significantly.
The delayed departure flights included Indigo 6E6542 (Guwahati-Bengaluru), Indigo 6E2339 (Guwahati-Delhi), Indigo 6E927 (Guwahati-Chennai), Indigo 6E6881 (Guwahati-Hyderabad), Indigo 6E213 (Guwahati-Kolkata), Indigo 6E5203 (Guwahati-Delhi), and Indigo 6E394 (Guwahati-Kolkata).
Flights operated by various airlines, including SpiceJet, Indigo, and Air India, were affected. SpiceJet stated that all flights to and from Guwahati were affected due to adverse weather, while IndiGo issued a travel advisory, with particular emphasis on the Delhi, Amritsar, Lucknow, Bengaluru, and Guwahati routes.
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