New test facility at Sathyabama University to decode Chennai’s climate patterns

CHENNAI: The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) on Monday inaugurated an urban test bed facility at Sathyabama University.

M Ravichandran, secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, inaugurated the state-of-the-art facility which is equipped with advanced atmospheric instruments such as a ceilometer, sound detection and ranging micro rain radar.

These systems offer continuous high-resolution data on wind circulation, aerosol presence, cloud formation and rainfall, critical components for understanding Chennai’s unique urban climate variability.

Ravichandran said such urban radar network will be installed in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata under the Mission Mausam project launched by Centre last year, for monitoring extreme weather events.

“Under Mission Mausam, over 100 weather radars will be installed nationwide to strengthen forecasting services. Along with setting up such urban test beds to gauge climate changes in urban areas, we plan to set up automatic weather stations in the Himalayan region for better prediction of weather,” said Ravichandran.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune will integrate urban test bed data with its modelling and research efforts.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between IITM Pune and Sathyabama University on Monday. IITM Pune director A Suryachandra Rao was present.

Speaking at the inauguration, Mariazeena Johnson, Chancellor of Sathyabama University, said, “Sathyabama is actively promoting sustainability-focused research aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”

In addition to the radar systems, the facility also launched a paleoclimatology laboratory and three climate awareness galleries — Geochronos, Oceana, and Innovaria — to promote climate literacy.