Ganderbal: Officials from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday restored the Automatic Weather Station (AWS) in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district after lying defunct fir more than six months.
The development comes on the heels of Greater Kashmir report on the AWS, which provides real time weather data including temperature, rainfall and humidity and other weather parameters, lying defunct since last more than six months.
No temperature or rainfall reading was available despite the district being geographically important for travelers and tourists alike given its vicinity to Ladakh and tourist destination Sonmarg.
An official at IMD Srinagar confirmed to Greater Kashmir that the AWS in Ganderbal has been made functional by a technical team.
The Weather Station would provide weather data pertaining to temperature, humidity, pressure, wind, rainfall and solar radiation with precision, the official said.
He further informed that the AWS typically consists of a weatherproof enclosure, which contains solar panels that provide the energy to run the station, a battery that stores the energy generated by the panels and sensors — thermometer rain gauge and a telemetry equipment — to send the recorded data to desired locations.
The official said that the AWS in Baramulla will also be also made functional soon.
“Finally the AWS in Ganderbal has been made functional and now we can get weather updates from the district,” Faizan Arif a weather enthusiast and independent weather forecaster remarked about the development.
The Automatic Weather Stations are designed to disseminate information about snowfall, inclement weather, avalanche threats, heavy or scant rainfall.
Experts believe that the information gathered by the weather stations at the district levels can facilitate the administration to effectively mitigate the impacts of any disaster.