Thursday, November 24, 2011

Launch of Weather Satellite Mission

The Government has recently launched a Megha-Tropiques weather satellite mission on 12th October 2011 for improved understanding of weather and climate processes through obtaining reliable statistics of the water and energy budget in the tropical atmosphere so as to describe the evolution of its systems (monsoons and cyclones) at appropriate time scales. Thus, this mission provides opportunity to critically study water cycle of the tropical atmosphere in the context of climate variability and change.

The Megha-Tropiques consists of three radiometric instruments allowing to observe simultaneously three interrelated components of the atmospheric engine - water vapour, condensed water (clouds and precipitations), and radiative fluxes that has a privilege sampling the atmosphere all through day and night with all-weather viewing capabilities. It will pass over India almost a dozen times every day, thus giving opportunity for an almost real- time assessment of the evolution of clouds. Multi-frequency Microwave Scanning Radiometer would complement other global research efforts of the Global Precipitation Measurement mission of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The information so received will benefit India and other countries in the Indian ocean region.

The satellite mission will benefit India and other countries in tropical Indian Ocean region as the availability of above mentioned parameters will help the countries to study monitor and forewarn the evolution of weather systems.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Shri Ashwani Kumar in a written reply to a question by Shri Baijayant Jay Panda and Shri Nityananda Pradhan in Lok Sabha today.

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