80 sites to have automatic rain gauge system in city

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Mumbai: With the monsoon around the corner the weather dept’s prepa­r­a­tions are almost complete. Arou­nd 80 sites all over the city has been chosen by the Indian Met Dept (IMD) in consultation with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MGCM) for installing Automatic Rain Gauge System (ARGS) (a we­a­ther instrument for measuring rainfall and monitoring rate of rai­n­fall) and installing observatory units.

These are specially designed units that will provide additional data of exact temperature and weather forecast and give updates regarding heavy rainfall. According to IMD officials, ARGS will help to keep tabs on the current updates of monsoon and check the amount of rainfall being received by any part of the city.

Hosalikar said, “The BMC’s network consists of around 80 ARGS sites. While there are around 90 managed by the IMD and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). Some rain gauges also have temperature sensors. This will help to predict the exact weather and the amount of rainfall.”

Further, he said that this will help BMC to locate the areas with rainfall related problems with the help of an an app ‘Mumbai Weather Live.’ This mobile app will update rainfall readings every 15 minutes after comparing measurements from IMD, Mum­bai; System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) and the BMC. Readings of other weather parameters like temperature, relative humidity and wind will also be available, beside satellite image for better understanding of cloud position at that particular time. IMD officials stated this will help alert people and improve preparedness.