Regional Meteorological Centre: Internship Report
Regional Meteorological Centre: Internship Report
(B.E. VI-SEM)
(Session 2020-21)
Name of Interns:
Ayushi Pedulwar
Vaishnavi Ghatole
Vaishnavi Kerde
Rushikesh Mahajan
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Contents:
Introduction
Acknowledgement
History of IMD
Departments at RMC Nagpur
1. RADAR
2. AMSS & Data Entry
3. AMO
4. RSRW
5. PBO
6. RWFC
7. Radiation
Conclusion
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Introduction:
We started our internship by reading the basics and fundamentals which we thought
would help us during the training process which includes atmospheric phenomena, such as
clouds, winds, precipitation and the processes that produce the same. We were highly fascinated
by the fact that some people have the ability to predict rains and floods based on annual cycles &
the curiosity made us opt for the internship.
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Acknowledgment:
The internship opportunity we had with Regional Meteorological Centre Nagpur was a
great chance for learning and professional development. We consider ourselves as very lucky
individuals as we were provided with an opportunity to be a part of it. We are also grateful for
having a chance to meet so many wonderful people and professionals who led us through this
internship period.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude and special thanks to the Dr. Aakre & Mrs. Lata
Shridhar of [Regional Meteorological Centre Nagpur] who in spite being busy with their duties,
took time out to hear, guide and keep us on the correct path and allowing us to carry out the
internship/training at their organization and also extending duration of the internship asper our
convenience.
We perceive this opportunity as a big milestone in our career development. We will strive to use
these gained skills and knowledge in the best possible way, and we will continue to work on their
improvement, in order to attain desired career objectives. Hope to continue cooperation with all
of you in the future.
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History of Indian Meteorological Department:
India is fortunate to have some of the oldest meteorological observatories of the
world. The British East India Company established several such stations, for example, those
at Calcutta in 1785 and Madras (now Chennai) in 1796 for studying the weather and climate
of India. The Asiatic Society of Bengal founded in 1784 at Calcutta, and in 1804 at Bombay
(now Mumbai), promoted scientific studies in meteorology in India. Captain Harry
Piddington at Calcutta published 40 papers during 1835-1855 in the Journal of the Asiatic
Society dealing with tropical storms and coined the word "cyclone", meaning the coil of a
snake. In 1842 he published his monumental work on the "Laws of the Storms". In the first
half of the 19th century, several observatories began functioning in India under the provincial
governments.
A disastrous tropical cyclone struck Calcutta in 1864 and this was followed by failures
of the monsoon rains in 1866 and 1871. In the year 1875, the Government of India
established the India Meteorological Department, bringing all meteorological work in the
country under a central authority. Mr. H. F. Blanford was appointed Meteorological Reporter
to the Government of India. The first Director General of Observatories was Sir John Eliot
who was appointed in May 1889 at Calcutta headquarters. The headquarters of IMD were
later shifted to Shimla, then to Poona (now Pune) and finally to New Delhi.
From a modest beginning in 1875, IMD has progressively expanded its infrastructure
for meteorological observations, communications, forecasting and weather services and it
has achieved a parallel scientific growth. IMD has always used contemporary technology. In
the telegraph age, it made extensive use of weather telegrams for collecting observational
data and sending warnings. Later IMD became the first organization in India to have a
message switching computer for supporting its global data exchange. One of the first few
electronic computers introduced in the country was provided to IMD for scientific
applications in meteorology. India was the first developing country in the world to have its
own geostationary satellite, INSAT, for continuous weather monitoring of this part of the
globe and particularly for cyclone warning.
IMD has continuously ventured into new areas of application and service, and steadily
built upon its infra-structure in its history of 140 years. It has simultaneously nurtured the
growth of meteorology and atmospheric science in India. Today, meteorology in India is
poised at the threshold of an exciting future.
Sciences
Government of India
RADAR:
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Weather Radars are the basic and most important tool for a Meteorologist for Nowcasting and
Forecasting of various severe weather events. RMC is executing the network of 12 numbers S
Band Metstar WSR-98D with Vaisala signal processor and IRIS application software in India. S
band radars operate on a wavelength of 8-15 cm and a frequency of 2-4 GHz and give advantage
of less attenuation. This makes them useful for near and far range weather observation.
The size of the Antenna is 8.5 meters and it requires a large motor to power it. To shelter the
antenna from adverse weather conditions with minimal attenuation of electromagnetic signals a
Radome is installed with it.
Weather radars detect the motion of rain droplets in addition to the intensity of the precipitation.
Data is analyzed to determine the structure of storms, wind patterns and their potential to cause
severe weather. It is used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain,
snow, hail etc.).
Doppler Weather Radar Products can be used for the following applications-
Weather surveillance
Severe weather monitoring
Hurricane, typhoon, and cyclone tracking
Hail detection
Hydrometeorological applications, such as flood forecasting
Airport wind-shear detection
Meteorological research
Weather modification
Agriculture
Radiosonde Launch support systems
We were extremely grateful for the knowledge Mr. Y. Lokhande had shared with us.
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a regular basis. To meet the requirement, IMD is having Regional Telecom Hub (RTH) at New
Delhi. It is connected with other International & seven AMSS Installed in RMC’s. One AMSS is
also installed at RMC Nagpur. Met data is also received at different AMSS & RTH through other
means of communication viz. VPN (Virtual Private Network), FAX, VSAT, SMS, Telephone,
etc.
Main purpose of AMSS is to receive, check and forward automatically, meteorological data and
products according to the WMO standards.
The TRANSMET software is the most Automatic Switching Messages System (AMSS)
available. It exchanges both types of Data Flow (Input and Output Data Flow).
It exchanges both types of Data Flow (Input and Output Data Flow). It offers a modern
Graphical User Interface (GUI), connected with its Main Servers through the use of Local Area
Network (LAN) to meet the requirements of National Meteorological entrées and Regional
Telecommunication Hubs.
Section 3 contains a sequence of so-called descriptors that define the form and contents
of the BUFR data product.
Section 4 is a bit-stream containing the message's core data and meta-data values as laid
out by Section 3.
We were thankful for the knowledge Mr.Rahul had shared with us.
AMO:
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AMO obtains and monitors Current Weather Data using airport instruments and sensors, every
one second for wind, Temperature, Humidity, pressure parameters, from one Runway site to
Multiple Runway sites and also obtains manual data entry of observations for which sensors are
not available viz. Present Weather, Clouds, Gen Visibility, Runway Visual Range & Trend etc.
All the data recorded goes to AMSS and OLBS and is made available to all Meteorological
Centers/stations. The data is further processed to find safe flight times, altitude, route and given
to ATC or Pilot.
Field system is present at each runway site. It has
Wind Direction sensor,
Wind speed sensor,
Air Temperature & Humidity Combined sensor,
Atmospheric Pressure Sensor
Data logger - Analog channels (8nos), Digital Channels (RS232) (4), Ethernet
Port
Wireless Modem for Data Transmission
For Safety of Taking Off & Landing Meteorological Parameters Wind, Pressure, Temperature &
Dew Point, RVR, Clouds, Present Weather & Wind shear etc is to be monitored, Processed &
displayed in front of ATC for communicating to Air Borne Pilot.
A New Aviation Weather Observing System is designed & developed by Surface Instruments
Division for Continuous monitoring of Aviation Met Parameters & Generation of all Reports
required for Aviation Industry.
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RSRW:
IMD has a network of 39 upper air stations taking RS/RW observations twice daily. For upper
air observations balloons are released twice daily at 0000 UTC & 1200 UTC with a radiosonde
(RS) transmitter system, which transmits meteorological data i.e temperature, humidity and
pressure at different levels. The balloon is tracked for upper air wind data (Wind direction and
wind speed) with the help of theodolites. The Radiosonde consists of sensors for atmospheric
sensing. The parameter values indicated by the sensors are suitably converted and communicated
to the ground station with the help of the transmitter and receiver link. The data is analyzed to
get the atmospheric parameter values. The accuracy of the radiosonde, receiver electronics and
the software algorithm all contribute to the correct atmospheric sensing. For measurement of
upper air atmospheric pressure profile, the radiosonde uses a mechanical pressure sensor called
baroswitch. The baroswitch works on the principle of vacuumization. It consists of 37 different
mechanical parts. All these parts are being manufactured and assembled together in IMD
workshop. The baroswitch works as a pressure sensor as well as a switching device for selection
of modulating entities like temperature, pressure and humidity.
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PBO:
We are extremely grateful for the knowledge Mr.Miling Phadke had shared with us
regarding RSRW & PBO.
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RWFC:
Numerical weather prediction (NWP) is a method of weather forecasting that employs a set of
Hydro-dynamical equations that describe the motion in the atmosphere and oceans to predict the
future weather condition based on current weather conditions Current weather observations serve
as input (initial condition) to the NWP models through a process known as data assimilation to
produce weather forecast of temperature, wind, precipitation, and other meteorological
parameters.
Post processing
These above raw modes output may be of very little use for the weather forecasters rather
forecasters may like to have specific weather information ke rainfall variability divergence
vorticity precipitable water content different convective indices etc.
Thankyou Mrs. Reena Surpam for your precious knowledge in this domain.
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Radiation:
Solar Radiation - is the distribution of radiant energy from the Sun, Solar radiation
sensors are also known as pyranometers. A type of actinometer, these devices are used
for measuring broadband solar irradiance as well as solar radiation flux density, which
means that they measure the power of the light and heat from the sun. When placed on a
flat surface, pyranometers can be used for identifying solar radiation. Solar radiation
sensors are commonly used in climatology, meteorology, building physics, and solar
energy studies. They are also used in weather stations and are usually installed in a
horizontal manner near solar panels. The level of possible measurement of a solar
radiation sensor will vary based on the position of the sun.
Campbell strokes recorder (Sunshine Recorder) - The unit is designed to record the
hours of bright sunshine which will burn a hole through the card
The crystal ball is typically 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter, and is designed to focus the
rays from the sun onto a card mounted at the back and is set on a stand. The card is held
in place by grooves of which there are three overlapping sets, to allow for the altitude of
the sun during different seasons of the year.
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exposure. The switching of the output is done too high or low in order to indicate sunny
or not sunny conditions. The calculated direct irradiance value is also available. CSD 3
operates from 12VDC power and has built-in heaters to dissipate rain, snow and frost.
These are normally switched externally but an optional internal thermostat control is
available. It can be observed from the humidity indicator when a change of drying
cartridge is required.
Very grateful of Mr .Avinash Tarodekar for his knowledge & expertise in the field of Radiation.
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Conclusion:
We can honestly say that our time spent interning with RMC Nagpur resulted in one of the best
times of our academics. Not only did we gain practical skills but we also had the opportunity to
meet many fantastic people. The atmosphere at the RMC office was always welcoming which
made us feel right at home.
While we were able to learn a lot from normal college life, every day was a memorable one at
RMC. We were able to make connections with the staff and also friendly connections with newly
recruited members there. It was a great experience to interact with everyone during the
internship.
Overall, our internship at RMC Nagpur has been a success. We were able to gain practical skills,
learn in a fantastic environment, and make connections that will last a lifetime. We could not be
more thankful.
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