India to mandate domestic airlines to share weather data with IMD | Fusion - WeRIndia

In a bid to enhance weather forecasting, the government is set to make it mandatory for domestic airlines to share weather data with the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

This regulation is expected to take effect within a year. M Ravichandran, Secretary of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, confirmed this matter.

Aircraft gather critical weather data. This data includes temperature, humidity, and wind conditions, during takeoff and landing.

These observations are transmitted in real time and integrated into forecasting models.

While international airlines already comply with such requirements, domestic carriers have yet to follow suit.

Ravichandran says that observations improve weather predictions. In other words, weather predictions can be better with more observations.

He emphasizes that vertical observations, collected by aircraft and weather balloons, are vital for understanding storm formation and other weather phenomena.

Currently, the IMD relies on weather balloons launched from 50-60 stations across India.

However, aircraft can gather data from thousands of locations, including remote areas and oceans where balloons are rarely deployed.

This capability could significantly improve forecasting accuracy and expand data coverage.

India’s aviation sector is rapidly growing, with many states now hosting multiple airports.

Ravichandran noted that mandatory data sharing from domestic airlines would substantially boost IMD’s prediction capabilities, especially as air connectivity increases nationwide.

Many countries already require airlines to share weather data under similar regulations.

Aircraft use onboard systems such as the Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) to collect and transmit this information.

The initiative aligns with IMD’s ongoing efforts to modernize and enhance its operations as it approaches its 150th anniversary on January 15, 2025.

By leveraging data from domestic airlines, India aims to set a new benchmark in meteorological forecasting and aviation safety.

This step not only promises to improve weather predictions but also ensures safer and more efficient airline operations across the country.

Image from Pxhere (Free for commercial use / CC0 Public Domain)

Image Published on March 11, 2017

Image Reference: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1091303