Govt approval delays implementation of weather station plan

The installation of five weather stations in the city, originally scheduled for completion by October of the previous year, has yet to commence. According to GMDA officials, delays in obtaining permission from state agencies are the primary reason for the setback. While approvals for three sites have been obtained, permissions for the remaining two are pending.

An official stated that all necessary permits are expected to be secured by the end of this month, and the stations are anticipated to become operational by March.

The stations will be set up at Sultanpur Lake, Udyog Vihar industrial area, Old Age Home in Sector 6, Government Senior Secondary School at Badshapur and Government Polytechnic College in Manesar. The estimated cost is Rs 8.7 crore.

At present, the city does not have full-fledged weather stations. The India Meteorological Department currently relies on two automatatic stations (AWS) in Shikohpur and Gwalpahari, but both of these are prone to technical glitches and give data that may not be representative for the entire city.

Data is specifically needed in times like these , when the region reels under cold-day conditions, or in any other cases of extreme weather. Last five days, IMD’s AWS have not been functioning in Gurgaon because of a technical issue, leaving the Met department to rely on its closest observatory in Ayanagar, Delhi.

There’s also a part-time manual weather observatory on Sohna Road, but it hasn’t been functioning since 2022.
“There has been some delay with site permissions since these weather monitoring stations will be set up at various institutions falling under various departments. Had it been our site, we won’t have any problem, but we are dependent on other departments, so, we have to go through entire channels. We have permission for three sites but we are waiting for consent from the tourism department and HSIIDC for installing weather stations,” the GMDA official said.

Conceptualised in 2021, GMDA initially proposed 24 AWS across the city. The plan later changed to five high-density AWS along with automatic rain gauge and air quality monitoring stations. GMDA signed an agreement with IMD in December 2022 and the contract for AWS for awarded to an agency in August 2023. The data collected from these stations is to be shared with IMD’s national weather system.

Asked why AWS have not been set up at sites for which permission was granted, the GMDA official said is “not feasible to install one equipment and wait for permission for others as these stations will be integrated with a larger network. Also, operation and maintenance, which is part of scope of work, need to be streamlined”. On Sunday, experts underscored the need for granular weather data in cities.

Establishing an extensive network of weather observatories is crucial for obtaining accurate data, particularly in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather conditions. Mahesh Palawat, Vice President of Skymet India, a private weather forecasting agency, emphasized that such a network is essential for gaining insights into the climatology of the city. This information can then be utilized to shape policies, especially in the realm of urban planning.