Context: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated India’s first ‘SkyCast’ System at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), New Delhi.
About India’s First SkyCast System:
What It Is?
- SkyCast is a next-generation, integrated atmospheric remote sensing system designed for aviation weather monitoring. It brings together multiple real-time measurements of fog, aerosols, turbulence, moisture, and visibility into a single, comprehensive aviation weather intelligence framework.
Developed By: The system was developed under the Government of India’s Mission Mausam initiative by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
Aim:
- The primary objective of SkyCast is to usher India into an era of fog-free, weather-smart aviation.
- It aims to dramatically reduce flight delays, cancellations, and diversions caused by adverse weather conditions while maximizing safety during critical take-off and landing phases.
Key Features:
- Multi-Sensor Integration: Combines state-of-the-art instruments including a Radar Wind Profiler, SODAR, Microwave Radiometer, Ground-based Fog Aerosol Spectrometer (GFAS), and a CL61 Lidar-based Ceilometer.
- 3-Kilometer Atmospheric Monitoring: The system continuously monitors and maps boundary-layer dynamics, wind speed, wind direction, vertical velocity, and turbulence up to an altitude of nearly 3 km.
- Micro-Level Fog Tracking: Utilizes the GFAS to study droplet sizing and aerosol-fog interactions (crucial for Delhi’s pollution-heavy fog) and the Lidar Ceilometer to track the vertical structure and density of fog.
- Short-Window Alerts: Provides precise nowcasting and real-time alerts to aircrews and pilots within a tight 3-hour window.
- Data-Driven Scalability: The vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, and wind will feed directly into advanced forecasting models, AI-enabled decision support systems, and urban pollution management.
Significance:
- Global Milestone: Deploying this system places India among an elite group of only 19 nations globally possessing such high-tech aviation weather infrastructure.
- Aviation Efficiency & Safety: By giving pilots real-time boundary-layer data during descent, it allows airlines to accurately time landings, saving millions in operational costs caused by sudden diversions.
