Kerala adds 51 automatic weather stations to boost real-time disaster monitoring
Kerala installed 51 weather stations, primarily at schools, to improve disaster monitoring amid extreme rainfall. Data will be shared with authorities and used for educational purposes.
Kerala installed 51 weather stations, primarily at schools, to improve disaster monitoring amid extreme rainfall. Data will be shared with authorities and used for educational purposes.
Kerala installed 51 weather stations, primarily at schools, to improve disaster monitoring amid extreme rainfall. Data will be shared with authorities and used for educational purposes.
The Kerala government has installed 51 more Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) to strengthen the state’s disaster risk monitoring system. The move comes against the backdrop of increasingly erratic and intense rainfall in the state, which has triggered floods, landslides and other weather-related incidents in recent years.
The State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), in collaboration with IIT Ropar, completed the project as part of the Chief Minister’s 100-day action plan. The stations have been installed mainly at selected schools under the General Education Department, with priority given to disaster-prone areas and regions with limited coverage under the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) existing monitoring network.
The project was implemented under the leadership of ANNAM.ai, the Centre of Excellence in AI for Agriculture at IIT Ropar.
The stations will provide near-real-time data on rainfall, wind, temperature and humidity. The information will be integrated into KSDMA’s disaster risk warning system and shared in real time with the IMD and other government agencies. It will also be made available to local self-government institutions, police and fire and rescue services.
Schools can also use the weather data for academic and educational activities.
Around 150 automatic weather stations and rain gauges operated by the IMD are currently functioning across Kerala. A larger network of automatic weather monitoring stations is also being developed under the Ministry of Agriculture’s WINDS project.
Meanwhile, the government has sanctioned special funds from the Disaster Mitigation Fund to establish a dedicated disaster risk monitoring system for Wayanad. A project has been prepared for its implementation.