Wayanad to get localized weather forecasting
The Hindu
‘Currently rainfall data is being collected from 93 locations of Wayanad and this pooled into a centralized system for synthesis’
The Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology and the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) have jointly set up a localized weather forecasting system for Wayanad district, a major landslide prone area in the State. “While the conventional forecasting systems focus mostly on district wise rainfall, which has limitation in providing regional variation in forecasting, this new model predict rainfall in 25 sq km gridded platform, showing local variation in rainfall”, said S. Abhilash, Meteorologist of CUSAT. “Everyday forecasting resulted in 70% to 80% accuracy in the spatial distributi,on as well as the intensity of rainfall. But we have to experiment at least three years to understand the limitations in the modeling system and to further improve the accuracy. The promising results of one year simulation is encouraging and appreciated by various stakeholders and there is also scope for customization of the forecast products for various stakeholders” Dr. Abhilash, said.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.