Project to improve fog prediction launched

In a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at studying various aspects of fog, the Centre launched an observational campaign at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institute at Pusa in the national Capital on Thursday.

The project, which has been jointly launched by the Indian Institute of Tropical Management (IITM), Pune, and the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), is aimed at improving the national weather forecasting agencies’ capabilities of fog prediction, its intensity and duration.

It will be of great relief to flyers as the IITM and IMD will get adequate modelling of fog prediction in next 2-3 years.

As part of the project, sophisticated equipment have been installed at both IGI Airport and ICAR so that experts can study the physical features of fog and factors responsible for its genesis, intensity and duration. It will be repeated during the next 2-3 winter seasons to understand the characteristic and variability of fog across Delhi.

“Once modelling is done in Delhi, it can be replicated elsewhere in the country. This is the first such attempt in the country. At present, we don’t have any model,” said IMD director general LS Rathore, adding the observations will ultimately improve their understanding of fog events.

The campaign will include simultaneous measurements of surface meteorological condition, radiation balance, turbulence, thermo-dynamical structure of the surface layer, droplet and aerosols microphysics, fog water chemistry, vertical profile of winds, temperature and humidity to describe the complete environment in which fog develops.