Domestic airlines will have to share weather-related information with IMD, order coming soon

The government is planning to make it mandatory for domestic airlines to share meteorological data collected by aircraft during takeoff and landing with IMD. Senior officials say that this will significantly increase forecasting capabilities.

M. Ravichandran, Secretary of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, told PTI that his ministry is discussing the matter with the Civil Aviation Ministry, and providing meteorological data will be made mandatory for domestic airlines within a year.

He said, it should be made mandatory ... It will be very useful not only for airline operations but also for weather forecasting everywhere. The secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences said weather forecasting largely depends on the number of observations collected.

The more observations we have, the better our predictions will be. It is similar to exit polls - if you collect data from more places, you will get a clearer picture. In the same way, we aim to collect information on temperature, humidity, and wind wherever possible, he said.

Vertical weather observations (obtained from aircraft and weather balloons) are more important than ground observations, Ravichandran said, as they provide a complete picture of the atmosphere, not just what is happening at the surface. Weather systems like storms form and develop in the atmosphere, where temperature, humidity, and wind conditions at different heights play a crucial role, he said.

Weather balloons launched from 50-60 stations of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) provide important data on the state of temperature, humidity, and wind at different heights. Besides, weather data is also recorded by aircraft during ascending and descending. These are then transmitted to the ground in real-time and assimilated into forecast models. Whereas only a limited number of weather balloons can provide data, thousands of aircraft can relay data.

All aircraft operating on international routes provide meteorological data as it is enshrined in law, said Ravichandran. However, not all domestic airlines do so because there is no such compulsory requirement for them. Many countries have made it mandatory for their airlines to provide this data and India needs to have a similar arrangement. Aircraft are already collecting the data. If they were not doing so, it would be a different issue, he said.

Air connectivity is phenomenally increasing in India, with each state boasting 10 to 15 airports. If all domestic airlines start supplying this critical data, our forecasting capability will increase manifold, he said. Aircraft provide meteorological observations through sensors and instruments installed on the aircraft, usually being part of systems mounted on the aircraft, collectively called aircraft meteorological data relay (AMDAR) or other advanced systems.

The big plus side of collecting meteorological data from aircraft is that this can give information from areas where meteorological balloons are seldom or never sent up-such as over oceans or remote areas. The IMD, which was founded in 1875, turns 150 on January 15.