Bengaluru to miss monsoon date with Doppler radar
Bengaluru: Losing out to Mangaluru in acquiring Karnataka's first C-Band Doppler radar for accurate weather forecasting, Bengaluru's efforts to obtain the advanced system before the onset of southwest monsoon have once again hit a roadblock.
Both the state and central govts are dragging their feet over finalising a suitable location. A small plot, measuring 30 ft x30 ft at Vishwaneedam, off Magadi Road, west Bengaluru, was almost finalised in Jan 2025. However, a last-minute difference of opinion aborted the plans, and efforts are underway to scout a new place, preferably in Bengaluru north, according to state govt officials.
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The
India Meteorological Department
(IMD) is ready to install and commission the advanced radar system with a forecast range of 250km for better weather forecasting in Karnataka. In fact, IMD scientists have already installed a Doppler radar in Mangaluru and successfully conducted trials. The coastal city is likely to operationalise Karnataka's first Doppler radar system next month.
N Puviyarasan, head of IMD Bengaluru, said, "After finalising a plot near Vishwaneedam, we even sought transfer of land from the school education department. However, at the last minute, it was decided to change the location, and the plan was dropped. Now, three locations — Hesaraghatta, University of Agriculture (UAS) on the Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (GKVK) campus, and Nandi Hills — have been recommended, and the govt has to clear one of these sites to proceed with the installation of the radar system."
All three places have their own advantages and disadvantages. "While Nandi Hills makes it difficult to track low-level clouds due to higher altitude, the two other locations, with elevations of 800-900 metres from the sea level, require a tall structure to set up the radar. The location at GKVK also has a building nearby, and if finalised, the radar tower needs to be taller than the existing building. Once the govt gives a green signal on any of these locations, the work will commence," explained another meteorological officer.
With Bengaluru being vulnerable to weather disturbances in the past, Bangalore North MP and Union minister of state for MSME, Shobha Karandlaje, sought a Doppler radar for Bengaluru in May-June 2024. The Union ministry of earth sciences sanctioned it. However, Mangaluru took advantage of the delay in finalising the location and emerged as the first city in Karnataka to host a C-band radar in Jan 2025.
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System set to become operational in M'luru
The C-band Doppler dual-polar weather radar which is set to become operational in Mangaluru before the onset of the monsoon, is expected to enhance weather monitoring along the west coast.
Networked with weather forecast systems in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Goa, and Mumbai, the radar installed at Shaktinagar, Mangaluru, has an effective scanning range of 250km, covering 10 districts in Karnataka, and parts of Kerala and the Arabian Sea, IMD officials said.
The radar will relay real-time data to IMD's central hub in Delhi and the information will also be monitored by the agency's Bengaluru centre. tnn
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