The Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research at the Cochin University of Science and Technology has launched a study on the onset of monsoon over Kerala in association with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.
The collaboration assumes significance at a time when the ₹20-crore Stratosphere Troposphere (ST) Radar owned by the centre has turned fully operational and ready to take up various research programmes on climate change. “The changes in the various dynamical and local moisture parameters ahead of the monsoon season are being assessed as part of the ongoing study. The monsoon circulation pattern has been established. It has to now strengthen before the onset of the monsoon,” said K. Mohankumar, director of the centre.
Researchers at the centre are studying the strength and vertical extent of the lower tropospheric zonal wind before the onset of the monsoon. Dr. Mohankumar said that instruments had been brought from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology to measure the temperature and local moisture parameters.
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“The study will continue even after the onset of the monsoon over Kerala. The behaviour and the nature of the monsoon will be part of the research. The strength and intensity of the rainfall will be assessed for one month after the onset of the monsoon,” he said.
The Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research will disseminate the information on the monsoon to the public as part of its weekly weather updates. The data collected from the ongoing study will be used in the preparation of research papers. Scientific interpretations will also be made as part of tracking the monsoon onset over Kerala. Meanwhile, the centre is all set to showcase the indigenously-developed Stratosphere-Troposphere Radar under the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.