New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) of India on Tuesday inaugurated the Ladakh centre, to give specialized weather updates for traffic movement on highways, agriculture, and defense services.
The centre is located at 3,500 meters above sea level in Leh which makes it the highest Meteorological Centre (MC) in India.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Earth Sciences (MoES) inaugurated the centre. This is the second center located in the Himalayas after Itanagar.
“Ladakh remains vulnerable to erratic weather and changing climate that has adverse effects on the lives of the locals. Also, the UT is a geostrategic location from the security point of view. All of these together, the Government of India decided to establish an MC in Leh,” said Dr. Harsh Vardhan, quoted The Indian Express.
IMD in a press release said, “To help the administration and the people of Ladakh, IMD will provide a range of weather forecast services, ranging from short (3 days) and medium (12 days) to extended (1 month) period to all the stakeholders daily for both the districts (Leh and Kargil). Apart from district level forecast, IMD will provide forecasts for important tourist places like Nubra, Changthang, Pangong Lake, Zanskar, Kargil, Drass, Dha-Baima(Aryan valley), Khalsi, etc. Some important services are Highway Forecast, Forecast for Mountaineering, Trekking, agriculture, Flash Flood warning, information on gusty winds, low and high temperatures, etc.”
Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General, IMD said, “The IMD plans to augment its existing operations in the region to provide timely weather updates and warnings ahead of disasters like cloud bursts in this geographically unique region.”
“Along with the locals, the forecasts will benefit tourists, the defense sector, disaster management, and agriculture departments in the region,” said Mohapatra.
The IMD is going to establish ten Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) at Nubra and Zanskar valleys, Pangong Tso, Drass, and Kargil along with relocating its movable radar from Sonmarg to the Leh region soon.