IIT-Ropar develops automatic weather station

Climate change is adversely affecting the crop yields in the region. To tackle the problem and provide accurate information regarding weather to farmers and horticulturists in the region, the IIT, Ropar, has developed an automatic weather station. Costing around Rs 15,000 each, it can also be installed by individual farmers, rather than waiting for the government help,

While Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments have shown keen interest in the invention, the Punjab and Himachal governments have yet to take note of it. Sources said the UP Government had already placed order for 3,000 weather stations, while Haryana has made a demand for 500 units.

IIT-Ropar Director Professor Rajiv Ahuja said the automatic weather station (AWS) was a sophisticated system designed to autonomously monitor and record weather conditions. It has various sensors to measure fundamental weather parameters and can be customised with additional sensors for specialised data collection.

As per a report of the India Metrological Department (IMD), the equipment has 99 per cent accuracy. It measures ambient air temperature, records moisture levels in the air, gauges wind velocity and direction and measures precipitation level, monitors atmospheric pressure variations, records sunlight intensity and helps in measuring soil temperature and moisture.

The director further said that it also has air quality sensors that detect pollutants like PM10, PM2.5, CO2, NO2, SO2, CO and TVOC. It could be used for weather predictions at local levels in areas ranging up to 15 km, he added.