The India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects to deploy 15 new automated weather stations (AWS) in Kerala before the southwest monsoon arrives.
Work is progressing and, hopefully, the 15 stations would be ready before the onset. Thirteen districts would get one AWS each and Thrissur would get two, an official attached to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) said on Tuesday.
The 15 AWS, which would be the first of 100 new ones planned by the IMD in the State, would come up in the following locations: Neyyattinkara (Thiruvananthapuram), Seethathode (Pathanamthitta), West Kallada (Kollam), Kanjikuzhi (Alappuzha), Poonjar (Kottayam), Peerumade (Idukki), Ayyampuzha (Ernakulam), Walayar (Palakkad), Paravanna (Malappuram), Chalakudy and Poringalkuthu (Thrissur), Kakkayam (Kozhikode), Padinjarathara (Wayanad), Irikkur (Kannur) and Vellarikund (Kasaragod).
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The 15 AWS would augment the IMD’s weather prediction capabilities in the State, the officials said.
Quarantine exemption
To enable speedy deployment of the AWS, the State government has exempted the project in-charge who is an employee of the private firm contracted by the IMD (Hach DHR India Pvt Ltd) from COVID-19 quarantine. Orders have been issued permitting the officer to travel from Tirupur in Tamil Nadu to Kerala. As per the May 22 order, he is also exempted from undergoing home quarantine.
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However, “it shall be the responsibility of the Director, Met Centre, IMD, to ensure that the individual is not affected by COVID-19” and if he exhibits symptoms, he would be immediately placed in quarantine in whichever district he happens to be at the time, the order said. A daily route diary would be maintained and his contact with the public should be minimal, the order further said.