Ladakh added one more feather in its cap of registering importance of the sorts in the country with Indian Meteorological Department opening its first centre in the Union Territory of Ladakh which was dedicated to the people by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan. Just a few days ago, through these very columns, we shared yet another achievement at the national level by the new Union Territory in respect of its Tso Kar Wetland Complex, the second one in Ladakh, becoming the country’s 42nd Ramsar site. In other words, it appears that Ladakh is registering its place and importance on the national canvas consistently especially after becoming a Union Territory. The present status of weather related activities in the UT is that of four Automatic Weather Stations (AWS), two each in both districts of which one is at the coldest place in India known as Drass. Range of providing weather forecast services ranging from 3 days to 12 days to one month, both as short and medium classified ones, were going to be of great help to the people of Ladakh as well as the administration and all other stake holders on daily basis in both the districts. Indian Meteorological Department, it may be recalled, has a long history of its functions as it was first established in the year 1875 in India bringing all the activities under a central authority. It undertakes multifaceted functions mainly to weather related Early Warning System which by its peculiar geographical status, Ladakh needs it to know beforehand the trend of the weather as weather and its vagaries have to play an important role in the region. The opening of the Centre in Ladakh gives it the unique place among all other centres as being at a highest altitude, roughly at 3500 Meters. Sophisticated activities like undertaking observations, communications, forecasting and weather services are being its main tasks. Earlier in the absence of a foolproof support from other agencies like currently provided by the Satellite System, very often, forecasts were made on hit and trial basis where accuracy used to be up to certain percentage points only. Now , since there is active collaboration from Indian Space Research Organisation and Indian National Satellite System, weather monitoring and forecasting are expected and found too usually accurate. However, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), to begin with has established a surface laboratory at Leh which will be reporting on daily basis meteorological parameters like pressure, humidity, temperature, snowfall and the like. We feel that these activities are basic and would prove quite useful in the Union Territory of Ladakh. However, real time weather data is made available on line on IMD – AWS site. It is learnt that the IMD is scheduled to open more AWSs next year at Nubra, Zanskar, Changthang and Parkachik which are known as remotest places of the UT but that was really going to cover the entire area of Ladakh. It may be noted that the functions of the IMD covering activities where weather warnings, for hazardous weather events like thunderstorms, hail storms, heavy rain falls and snow falls, cold waves etc, could all be gradually undertaken by the MeT centre as all of these functions have a direct bearing on weather conditions and related issues of the strategically important area like Ladakh. Instruments of vital importance are reported to be installed which will be monitoring radiation, air pollution, and other sophisticated activities which were going to confer a status of world class Scientific and Service Department Centre in the coming years on the one under reference, recently established at Leh. Let us hope with this new development, Ladakh would be largely benefitted in respect of becoming safe and secure from the vagaries of weather.
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