Open House on weather forecasting tech draws big crowd in Visakhapatnam

Cyclone Warning Centre in city organises event to mark 150th-anniversary celebrations of the India Meteorological Department; weather monitoring equipment and charts kept on display

Visitors gained an insight into weather forecasting by looking at the charts and weather monitoring equipment displayed at the Cyclone Warning Centre (CWC)‘s Open House on January 14 and 15. The event was part of the 150th-anniversary celebrations of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Charts displaying satellite images of storms, the eye of the storm, and the high, low, and medium clouds, as well as different types of thermometers, barometers, theodolites, hygrographs, thermographs, barographs, and rain gauges displayed, aroused curiosity among children and adults alike.

The objective of the expo is to raise public awareness, especially among students, and help them appreciate the processes involved in collecting and analyzing weather data and accurately forecasting weather events.

The expo showcased balloons with radiosonde instruments released into the air to measure the speed and direction of the wind, temperature and pressure at standard levels of 1.5 km, 2.4 km, etc.

It is explained that the readings are plotted at the surface level and upper air charts and analysed to predict weather systems. The daily variations in the maximum/minimum temperatures and the departure from the normal temperature are plotted in the ‘change chart’.

The students were curious to see the radiation recorder, sunshine recorder, and shade ring installed atop the CWC building.

The High Wind Speed Recorder (HWSR) recorder, a digital recorder, the aethalometer to detect black carbon deposits in the atmosphere, and the nephelometer that records the amount of aerosols present in the atmosphere and their functioning were explained to the students.

“A total of 80 students participated in the painting competition on the theme: Weather and climate. Students from Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, AU English Medium High School, GVP MLBT school, SFS High School and ZP High School, Chandrampalem, were among those who participated in the essay writing competition on ‘Climate change’, organised on January 10 and 11,” Meteorologist Samudrala Venkata Jagannatha Kumar, told The Hindu.

During the two live webcasts of the IMD Foundation Day program from Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on January 14 morning and afternoon, scientific talks were delivered by J.V.M. Naidu, former Deputy Director General of Meteorology, IMD, and C.V.Naidu, Professor, Department of Meteorology & Physical Oceanography, Andhra University.

Published - January 15, 2025 07:18 pm IST