Jammu and Kashmir will strengthen its weather warning system with the installation of four additional Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs) as extreme rain events become more frequent across the region. The India Meteorological Department plans to install the radars in Rajouri in the Pir Panjal region, Doda in the Chenab Valley and Anantnag and Sopore in Kashmir.
The radars will improve real-time weather monitoring and the accuracy of weather alerts for vulnerable areas and the expansion will take J&K’s Doppler radar network to seven. At present, three radars are operational in Srinagar, Jammu, and Banihal. During his visit to flood-hit Poonch on Wednesday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said cloudbursts remain difficult to predict with existing technology and announced that the Government would explore advanced weather warning technologies to improve disaster preparedness.
Director Meteorological Centre Srinagar Mukhtar Ahmad said Doppler radars, satellite observations, and automated weather stations had significantly strengthened forecasting by providing weather observations every 10 minutes.
