The government is planning to make it mandatory for domestic airlines to share meteorological data collected by aircraft during take-off and landing with the Meteorological Department (IMD). Senior officials say that this will significantly increase forecasting capabilities.
Union Earth Sciences Ministry Secretary M. Ravichandran said his ministry was discussing the matter with the Civil Aviation Ministry and it would be made mandatory for domestic airlines to provide meteorological data within a year. He said that it should be made mandatory as it would be very useful not only for airline traffic but also for weather forecasting for each location. He further said that weather forecasting largely depends on the number of observations collected. He said that the more observations we have on money, the more accurate our predictions will be. He said that it is like an exit poll. If you collect data from more places, you will get a clearer picture. Similarly, we aim to collect temperature, humidity and wind data wherever possible.
It is more important to observe the atmosphere from the sky
Ravichandran said seasonal observations of the sky obtained from aircraft and weather balloons are more important than ground-based observations because they provide a complete picture of the atmosphere. He said weather systems like hurricanes form and develop in the atmosphere where temperature, humidity and wind conditions at different altitudes play an important role.
