• UGI USER
  • Mar 17, 2024
  • 20 Likes
  • 0 Comments

ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH TESTBED:

Why in the news?

India inaugurates ART-CI, an Atmospheric Research Testbed, to study monsoon dynamics for better rainfall forecasts and agricultural planning.

About the Importance of the Monsoon Core Zone(MCZ):

  • The MCZ, crucial for Indian agriculture, experiences 70% of the country’s annual rainfall during the southwest monsoon season.
  • Central India, spanning from Gujarat to West Bengal, relies heavily on rain-fed cultivation, especially for Khanf cultivation.
  • It serves as a natural laboratory for meteorologists to study Indian monsoons, correlating all-India rainfall performance with rainfall received in the region.
About Atmospheric Research Testbed:

●   IITM’s ART-CI at Silkheda studies monsoon convection.

●   Features remote-sensing instruments for continuous observations.

●   Aims for international collaboration and weather model improvements.

About Introduction to ART-CI:

●   ART-CI, inaugurated in Silkheda village, Madhya Pradesh, is India’s Atmospheric Research Testbed focusing on weather parameters within the Monsoon Core Zone (MCZ).

●   Developed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences at a cost of Rs 125 crore, it spans 100 acres and houses 25 high-end meteorological instruments.

●   Managed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, it aims to observe and analyse ground-based and on–site weather phenomena during the southwest monsoon season.