UCAR, India join forces on weather technology, prediction

U.S. atmospheric researchers and their counterparts in India will join forces to advance weather forecasting and technology under a new agreement between the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and the India Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) will support collaborations to improve forecasts of major weather events in India, including monsoonal rains that are critical for growing crops that feed hundreds of millions of people. In turn, the knowledge gained from insights into India's weather patterns will help U.S. researchers advance their own forecast skills to better predict events closer to home.

"If we can help advance their forecast skill while learning more about long-range prediction, it will save lives in India as well as improve our own forecasts for similar events at home,” said UCAR president Thomas Bogdan. “There are some important synergies that can benefit both countries."

Collaborations are expected to involve research on aircraft and radar technology, nowcasting of severe weather events, hydrometeorology, satellite data, oceanic and climate research, and urban flooding. A particularly important area is long-range prediction, potentially helping Indian farmers with planting decisions based on the projected intensity and timing of the next monsoon season.

One of the first collaborations is expected to focus on a new technology that produces unusually detailed measurements of water vapor and wind in the lower atmosphere. Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which is managed by UCAR on behalf of the National Science Foundation, have developed a prototype lidar instrument for such measurements that leverages fiber-optic advances from the telecommunications industry.  The instrument, known as a water vapor DIAL (differential absorption lidar), can be used in forecasts of thunderstorms, frontal systems, and other weather events.

"Accurate weather forecasts and long-range outlooks have extremely high value to the Indian economy and the needs of the nation's farmers," Bogdan said.

The MOU covers scientists at NCAR, UCAR, and UCAR's 100-plus member universities. In India, it covers a range of institutions and scientists funded by the India Ministry of Earth Sciences.