Climate research gets a technological boost
EVEN as farmers of North India are staging protests over their demands, including a legally mandated minimum support price, space scientists in Sriharikota on the east coast recently launched a satellite dedicated to improving meteorological observations and services for farming and other sectors. The INSAT-3DS is a dedicated meteorological satellite designed to improve climate predictions and forecasts for farming and fishing communities, both of which face the vagaries of climate change. It is projected that climate change could result in a significant reduction in wheat and rice yields by 2050. Timely alerts, early warnings and better long-term forecasting can help farmers prepare for the adverse impacts of climate change.
The launch marks the maturing of India’s oldest satellite programme — the Indian National Satellite (INSAT) — conceived almost half a century ago. The series was approved in 1975, and the first satellite, INSAT-1 A, was launched in 1982. The first lot of satellites was procured from Ford Aerospace and Communications Corporation and launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The INSAT-1 series of satellites enabled the India Meteorology Department (IMD) to enter the era of satellite meteorology. Satellite data was used for monitoring cyclones, thunderstorms, low-pressure systems, depressions, western disturbances, etc. The INSAT-2 series launched in 1992 was a technological improvement with instruments like the locally developed Very High-Resolution Radiometers. This allowed for a better quality of cloud imagery data for everyday weather analysis and forecasting.
Both INSAT-1 and 2 series satellites, however, were multipurpose (they had payloads for communications, broadcasting and meteorology) and not meant for weather forecasting alone. Some INSAT-2 series satellites did not include any meteorology payload at all. For certain types of data, such as the inner core structure of tropical storms, the IMD depended on American defence satellites. To overcome these challenges, the space agency and the IMD launched Metsat in 2002, which was subsequently renamed Kalpana-1 in memory of Kalpana Chawla, the Karnal-born NASA astronaut who perished in a space shuttle tragedy the same year. At the same time, the IMD sought a dedicated satellite for its services and climate research. This resulted in the launch of INSAT-3D as the third-generation meteorology satellite in 2013, followed by another one in 2016.
The one launched on February 17 is the third satellite in this series. It has been funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Data from this satellite will be utilised by the IMD and other centres, such as the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting in Noida and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune. INSAT-3DS will provide comprehensive weather, climate and ocean-related observations. The onboard instruments are capable of generating images of the earth and its environment in six wavelength bands and provide information on the vertical profiles of the atmosphere, like temperature, humidity, etc. The satellite will provide data relating to sea and land surface temperatures, cloud properties, fog, rainfall, snow cover, snow depth, fires, smoke, aerosols and total ozone.
Along with building the satellite segment, steps were being taken to augment ground capabilities for receiving and processing satellite data. The IMD established new earth stations to receive data from meteorological satellites and put in place computing facilities to process and analyse data in real time. In the 1980s, when America denied the import of a large supercomputer for weather modelling, the Centre for Development of Telematics was formed to indigenously develop high-speed computing facilities. Since then, India has emerged as a leading nation with meteorology-related supercomputing facilities. For advanced climate and atmospheric research, the Ministry of Earth Sciences last year placed orders worth $100 million with a French company for building two more supercomputers to be installed at its centres in Noida and Pune.
The most important part of the sequence is the generation of relevant information products — advisories, early warning, short to medium-range localised forecasts, etc. — for the use of the public and groups like fisherfolk and farmers. Over the years, the IMD has developed services like weather and climate information sent as text messages to the mobile phones of farmers. Now it has mobile applications in different languages. The question is about the effectiveness of such services for decision-making at the farm level and ultimately the outcomes, such as reducing crop losses due to freak weather events or better yields with timely weather information and advisories. Given the advent of multiple sources of information, like WhatsApp and other social media platforms and sites like YouTube, which often become the source of misleading or irrelevant information, it is all the more critical for the IMD to build trust with timely and useful information products.
The launch of INSAT-3DS is an important milestone in India’s journey to develop technological capability in a crucial area of the national economy. From acquiring satellites and launching them with the use of foreign rockets, we have reached the stage of building large meteorological satellites indigenously and placing them into desired orbits with Indian rockets. All this became possible through careful identification of technological needs and gaps, the absorption of imported technology, programmes to develop systems and sub-systems, close cooperation between the Indian Space Research Organisation, the IMD and other scientific institutions, the handholding of industrial partners and long-term planning and support by successive governments.
In recent years, the changing landscape of space technology and industry, with the emergence of constellations of small and micro satellites by private players, has added a new dimension. Given the dynamic nature of weather and its changing patterns due to global climate change, it is critical for India to keep pursuing the path of technological self-reliance through greater investments in the development of advanced weather satellites, augmenting ground facilities, establishing regional data processing centres and ensuring the delivery of credible climate services to end users.
