Country’s first ‘Skycast’ weather monitoring system installed at Delhi airport, pilots will get real-time weather updates.

The country’s first ‘SkyCast’ weather monitoring system has been installed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in the country’s capital Delhi. Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated this state-of-the-art system. According to officials, Skycast is an advanced weather intelligence and nowcasting system, which will provide accurate and real-time information about the weather around the airport. This will help in reducing the challenges faced in operating flights especially during dense fog, poor visibility and suddenly changing weather.

Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said that India has become the 19th country in the world to set up an Integrated Aviation Weather Monitoring System. He said that the country’s first ‘SkyCast’ system has been started at the capital’s IGI Airport, while Jewar Airport will be the second airport in the country where this technology will be installed. Addressing the event, the Minister said that this state-of-the-art system will play an important role in reducing disruptions in flight operations due to bad weather. Through this, aircrew and pilots will be able to get advance weather alerts up to three hours in advance, enabling them to choose the safest time for take-off and landing. This is expected to reduce problems like unnecessary diversion, cancellations and delays of flights.

He said the system integrates multiple modern atmospheric observation techniques for fog monitoring, turbulence detection and high-impact meteorological forecasting. Skycast is also equipped with advanced equipment that will continuously monitor fog conditions. The minister said that this technology will prove to be extremely useful especially for cities like Delhi, where air pollution particles combined with fog severely affect visibility.

What will be the benefits?

Videh Kumar, CEO, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), said that the ‘SkyCast’ system is an important step towards making Delhi Airport more safe, efficient and future-ready for passengers. He said that weather conditions can change very rapidly and in such a situation it is very important to have accurate and real-time information available. This has a positive impact not only on airport operations on the ground but also on the operations of aircraft flying in the air.

This state-of-the-art system will provide accurate and instant weather information to airport operations teams, pilots and air traffic controllers. This will enable them to take decisions faster and better in response to changing conditions, improving both flight safety and operational efficiency. He said that Skycast will strengthen its weather monitoring and forecasting capabilities, which will help in reducing flight delays, diversions and other operational challenges during inclement weather.

What is Skycast system?

‘SkyCast’ is a next generation aviation meteorology platform, developed keeping in mind the needs of airports and aviation operations. It integrates advanced remote sensing technologies, atmospheric profiling systems and intelligent nowcasting instruments to provide accurate real-time weather monitoring and forecasting.

With the help of this state-of-the-art system, rapidly changing weather conditions affecting flight operations can be continuously monitored. Skycast provides continuous information on various atmospheric parameters, helping airport operations teams, pilots and air traffic controllers to take necessary decisions in time. Through the system, important information like temperature and humidity profile, density of water vapor in the atmosphere, amount of liquid water present in clouds, wind speed and direction and formation of wind circulation are continuously obtained. On the basis of these data, sudden changes in weather can be predicted more accurately.

How does the Skycast system work?

The SkyCast system is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies to address weather challenges in the aviation sector. This system is capable of analyzing atmospheric conditions up to a height of about 10 kilometers from the surface. Through this, wind speed, direction and other important meteorological activities can be accurately observed up to several kilometers away. The advanced platform measures the intensity and depth of wind shear (a sudden change in wind speed or direction), as well as provides information on headwind, tailwind and crosswind.

Apart from this, it can also assess atmospheric stability indicators, sudden changes in temperature, fog formation, possibility of icing on aircraft and important meteorological features associated with storm or rain. Skycast is supported by the VizAir software suite, which analyzes a variety of weather data and transforms it into useful operational information. Through this platform, real-time and accurate weather information is made available to meteorologists, air traffic controllers, pilots and other relevant stakeholders.

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