Expert gives insight into weather data collection

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, July 1

Extreme weather conditions make us think about the weather forecasters, who can anticipate the weather so that we can go about planning our days.

In Ludhiana, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has a specific department called the Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, which has been in operation since 1970, when a meteorological observatory was built on campus to compile weather records.

With curiosity in mind, The Tribune visited the department today to see how what instruments and equipment are utilised to collect data for the weather forecasts.

Pavneet Kaur Kingra, head, Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology at PAU, explained that the department collects data and sends it to the Indian Meteorological Department, which processes it and then issues forecasts.

“Punjab Agricultural University does not issue forecasts, but rather collects data that IMD processes and uses to generate forecasts,” added Dr Kingra. Dr Kingra stated that various readings such as temperature, rainfall, evaporation, day length and wind speed are recorded here.

The department also plays an essential role by formulating agro-advisories for farmers in response to unusual weather conditions and also advises them on effective farm management methods.

Visiting the area where equipments are placed, we saw a rain gauge. The rain gauge works by trapping and collecting rainwater in a funnel. The funnel directs the rainwater into a cylindrical cup under it. The water collected in the cylindrical cup represents the total amount of rainfall that has occurred.

Then, there’s a sunshine recorder, which is a device that measures the amount of sunlight at a certain spot. The device directs sunlight through a glass sphere onto a recording card positioned at its focal point. The length of the burn trail left on the card allows one to determine the length of the day.

Next up was the Stevenson Screen, an enclosure for measuring temperature, humidity, dewpoint and atmospheric pressure. It is white in colour to reflect sunlight.

There is also a wind direction indicator and a wind speed recorder.

In addition to these, there is an open pan evaporimeter, which monitors the rate at which water evaporates into the atmosphere.

Courses run by dept

Department runs undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD courses:

The MSc programme was initiated in the department in 1979-80, while the PhD programme was started in 1992-93, and PAU is the first institution in the country to start these programmes and issue agro-advisories for farmers.