IITM set to launch WiFEX-II to improve winter fog forecasts for airports in north India
This will enable airport operators to activate response protocols, ensuring safe operations during low-visibility conditions along major aviation corridors.
Under the expanded programme, dedicated sensors would be installed at new airport locations, providing real-time data to support operational decision-making during the winter fog season, which often disrupts aviation in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Building on the success of WiFEX, launched in 2015 at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, the programme has developed a high-resolution fog prediction model with over 85% accuracy for dense fog conditions (visibility under 200 metres).
IITM scientists said the system could forecast fog onset, density, duration and clearance patterns. The original experiment has expanded from the Delhi airport to include airports in Jewar (Noida) and Hisar (Haryana), creating an observational network that monitored temperature, humidity, wind patterns, turbulence and aerosol data through advanced meteorological equipment, including ceilometers and micrometeorology towers, they said.
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Ceilometers are instruments used to measure cloud base height or vertical visibility in weather and aviation applications, while micrometeorology towers are structures equipped with instruments to measure and monitor various atmospheric conditions near the surface.
The IITM scientists said research, conducted in collaboration with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), generated insights into how air pollution, urban heat effects and land-use changes influenced fog formation and persistence.
"WiFEX data has enabled more accurate forecasting that helps reduce flight diversions, delays and operational disruptions during north India's winter months when dense fog severely impacts aviation, rail and road transport," an IITM scientist said.
The ministry of earth sciences announced the WiFEX milestone during an event at IITM's Aryabhatta Hall, which included the launch of a website, screening of a documentary marking 10 years of WiFEX and a press briefing by Dr M Ravichandran, secretary MoES, and IITM director Dr A Suryachandra Rao. The programme also featured visits to the state-of-the-art atmospheric chemistry laboratory and Safar WiFEX control room for briefings on air quality monitoring activities.
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