Now, the Indian Meterological Department (IMD) says the promised Doppler Radar will be in place by next monsoon. Until then, the S-Band cyclone detection radar will remain in use for forecasts.
Additional Director General, IMD, R C Bhatia told Newsline from Delhi that the process for plac ing the order for the Doppler Radar is almost complete. “We are in the process of issuing the order to the firm,” he said.
“The company has promised that in the next nine months six Doppler radars will be delivered.”
Global tenders were floated last year in JulyAugust and nine companies responded. The name of the company which will be awarded the contract will be announced in a couple of days.
The IMD will procure 12 radars for cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Patna, Agartala, Luc know, Bhopal and Paradip in the first phase.
Bhatia said Mumbai will be given priority after the radar is procured.
“There is a definite need for the Doppler Radar in Mumbai as it is a coastal city and is prone to flooding. Moreover, it has identified the location and the site is getting ready for the installation of the instrument,” he said.
Deputy Director General of Meteorology (Western region) Dr C V V Bhadram said the Doppler Radar will be installed atop a 16-storeyed residential building in Navy Nagar and will replace the cyclone detection radar on its terrace.
“The civil works to modify the terrace of the building for setting up the radar have to be carried out with the help of Naval authorities and will begin after the monsoon,” he said.
The 26/7 deluge had prompted authorities to go for the Doppler Radar and the Central Government identified 17 locations, including Mumbai, on the east and west coasts for its installation.
An allocation of Rs 12-13 crore was made.
The Doppler Radar will be in-sync with the technol ogy used worldwide and will be customised to Indian climatic conditions.
The instruments were first set up at Chennai, Kolkata and Andhra Pradesh five years ago but the new radars will be the new version with upgrades.
The procurement of the radar has been in process since 2005 but was delayed due to the technical requirement of unobstructed view for the radar antenna up to five km in all directions.
Also, IMD was finding it difficult to finalise locations. Over the last two years, four sites, Worli, Aarey Colony, Juhu and Kalina in Santacruz, were shortlisted by the Met department, which nearly finalised the Juhu aerodome last year. Finally, the location in Navy Nagar was decided upon as the site already has the cyclone radar installed and is a secured area.
On July 26, 2005, weather forecasters had warned of very heavy rainfall-70 mm to above 120 mm – but the city received 944 mm, the result of an offshore vortex’: a heavy downpour but extremely localised and spread over as little as 30 km.
WHAT IS A DOPPLER RADAR? A Doppler Radar emits billions of microwaves that look inside moving weather systems and bounce back signs of weather conditions that forecasters analyse to predict a turbulent thunderstorm or cyclone hours away. It can measure rainfall intensity, show wind speeds, direction, and reveal how clouds are growing and whether their composition is changing for up to about 200 km from the radar installation. The Doppler Radars can update such information every five minutes compared to 15 minutes to half an hour for satellites.