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As the WMO stepped up coordinated efforts to ensure the protection of radio frequency bands -- vital for weather forecasts and life-saving early warnings -- India has emphasised on the need for frequent upper-air instruments intercomparisons.
An Indian delegation is attending the third session of the World Meteorological Organisation's (WMO) Commission for Observation, Infrastructure and Information systems (INFCOM), held in Geneva from April 15 to 19.
"The Indian delegation emphasised the need for frequent upper-air instruments intercomparison and offered a proposal of holding the next intercomparison in India. INFCOM President and WMO Secretariat appreciated the proposal," said a post on X by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday.
Upper-air instruments include radiosonde that go up to 22-35 kilometres in the air to measure temperatures, air pressure, humidity and wind; and pilot balloons that go up to 5-6 kilometres for wind speed and direction. Both operate and are highly dependent on radio frequencies.
Companies manufacturing upper-air instruments feeding data to global models need to qualify certain conditions set by the WMO and the intercomparisons are held to ratify and validate those instruments. In view of the 'Early Warning System for All' call given by the United Nations in 2022, there is a high demand for more and more instruments from around the globe.
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The IMD's present upper-air observational network comprises 39 radiosonde and 62 pilot balloon observatories spread all over the country.
The data generated through such observations from each country is fed to the global forecasting models which, in turn, gives way to regional models and, therefore, as natural disasters continue to batter the world, especially the Global South, the upper-air instruments intercomparisons are necessary.
The Indian team comprises Dr Vijay Kumar Soni, who heads the Environment Monitoring and Research Centre (EMRC) at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune; KN Mohan, a senior scientist with the IMD's Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati; and Dr Shankarnath, another senior scientist at the IMD headquarters in New Delhi.
Explaining the need for increased frequency of intercomparisons, IMD senior scientist KS Hosalikar, who is also the vice-chair, Working Group Infrastructure of the WMO, told PTI, "Currently, WMO intercomparisons are held once in every four to five years. These events are where new products are approved by the WMO after due diligence. Digital technology is changing fast and more and more companies are coming forward with the latest products."
"If the intercomparisons are held after four or five years, the product maker will need to wait for that long and the technology might be outdated. If this period is shortened, we can get more companies and better quality products," he said.
Updates to the Radio Regulations occur every four years at the World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC). The WMO, through its Expert Team on Radio Frequency Coordination (RFC), actively participates and ensures that WMO Members are kept informed about the impacts on the WMO Integrated Global Observing System.
The senior IMD scientist also underscored the importance of radio bands -- called the protected or reserved bands -- that are exclusively used by meteorologists and defence personnel.
"With the increase in digital tech, anyone and everyone is coming up with usage of various radio frequencies. So, it is very important to protect these for meteorological purposes and also coordinate for its update or change," Hosalikar said.
India is also part of the WMO's team for RFC, he said.
Protecting essential radio-frequency bands through the Radio Regulations is a complex and challenging process, according to Kirsty McBeath and Alec Casey, co-vice-chairs of the WMO Expert Team on RFC.
"India has a strong position in South Asia and we have infrastructure to bring Indian companies, including government-run ISRO, along with global companies. Therefore, we have proposed to host the next session in India," said the scientist, who in his capacity as vice-chair for the WMO's region II, looks at issues from the South Asian countries.
At the third session of the WMO INFCOM, it was decided to establish a network of national focal points to enhance the capacity and knowledge of the Radio Frequency Regulatory framework within the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and related environmental service centres, the WMO said.
Engagement of the national focal points for frequency matters will help obtaining and safeguarding protection of vital frequency bands under the Radio Regulations, it added.
The challenges, such as that from the increased competition from emerging technologies, were highlighted at a side-event at INFCOM, which explained how the new network of national focal points will enhance the meteorological community's ability to safeguard the critical access to radio spectrum.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
