New Mangalore radar to power hyper-local weather alerts after Wayanad tragedy

Thiruvananthapuram, May 13 (PTI) With the harrowing memory of last year's devastating Mundakkai–Chooralamala landslide in Wayanad still fresh in the minds of the people of Kerala, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has stepped up its efforts to enhance weather prediction accuracy.

A newly commissioned radar in Mangalore is expected to significantly bolster localised weather forecasting for the region.

Talking to PTI Video, IMD Regional Director Neetha K Gopal said on Tuesday that under the existing 'Nowcast' system, which delivers real-time weather updates, the department will now issue hyper-local alerts. This marks a shift from the current system, which provides weather information on a district-wide basis.

"With the new radar analysis, we will be able to provide a more localised weather warning system against the present practice of providing district wise alerts," Gopal said.

She said the radar will help them have a better forecast model, helping them zero down to areas that are going to experience extreme weather events.

The entire Northern Kerala districts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and parts of Wayanad will be covered by the new radar erected in Mangalore.

"When we are able to provide localised weather information, an alert need not be issued for the entire district, but only for the area that is going to be affected," she said.

The IMD staff are now being trained to provide this data accurately and the alerts will be issued both in English and Malayalam to the public, avoiding a delay in translation, Gopal added.

The South West monsoon has already reached Andamans, its first entry point and is expected to hit the Kerala coast on May 27, with a deviation of plus or minus four days.

The Monsoon onset this year is earlier than normal. The South West monsoon usually travels from Andamans to Kerala coast in 10 days and the director said that this year also the progression will happen during the same time period and no disruptions are expected.

"We do not see any chances for formation of cyclonic storms or low pressure en route, as these are the factors that usually disrupt the smooth progression of the monsoon," the director added.

The cloud movement direction has already changed from East to West to West to East, bringing in pre-monsoon showers in various parts of Kerala.

The Westerly winds are expected to bring in more rains, increasing the soil saturation levels in Kerala.

IMD has predicted an above normal monsoon across India this year. This coupled with an increased soil saturation rate is a possible recipe for natural disaster like landslide, officials said.

Kerala has witnessed extreme weather events in recent history and the localised weather warning would help the state authorities to prepare themselves better, they added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)