Indian Space Research Organisation sets up automated weather station in Hyderabad

Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, July 21: The Indian Space Research Organisation has set up
an automated weather station in Hyderabad to constantly monitor the
weather including the radiation reaching the earth from the sun.

Called Mini Boundary Layer Mast (MBLM), the centre is located at
Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology in the city. It came into
operation formally on Thursday. Hyderabad is one of the 28 places
selected by ISRO for its MBLM centres. The city weather station was
set up as part of ISRO's Prediction of Regional Weather with
Observational meso-Network and Atmospheric Modelling (PRWONAM)
project, according to VBIT principal Dr TC Sarma.

It will study the weather at a fine scale. Data is collected at one
second resolution and averaged for every four minutes. The averaged
data is sent to a receiving station at ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru
via short messaging service using a mobile phone connection.

The system uses advanced high resolution sensors to measure ambient
temperature, relative humidity and wind vector at three different
levels at 4 metres, 8 m and 14.9 m. It will also measure rainfall
using a tipping bucket having resolution of 0.5 mm, net incoming solar
radiation in long wave and short wave range, atmospheric pressure,
soil temperature at seven levels and soil moisture at six levels