A memorable visit by Vagaries to Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune... 8th Feb 2018

The visit, hosted by the IITM under the guidance of Prof Dr Milind Mujumdarji, Scientist E. 

It was indeed very warm welcome and helpful approach of IITM professional weather scientists interacting with Vagaries' amateur meteorologists.

Seven of us from Vagaries, Rajesh , Abhijit, Abhishek, Vineet, Shreyas, Gokul & Rajdeepak were studying and visiting IITM. ( Vineet, Shreyas, Gokul & Rajdeepak are already affiliated students with IITM who have decided to take their weather hobby into professional studies. 

We first went to the office of Dr Milind Mujumdarji,Scientist E where another scientist Mr Sunil Ghanekarji, Scientist D also welcome us. Their  vast knowledge on climate modeling & Indian summer Monsoon dynamics was captivating and had us all listening. Ghanekerji has immense knowledge on weather charts of different wind levels. Drawing exact trough, low position is his specialization, as he explained to us the actual interpretation of a trough or Low is very important, and can alter a situation if interpretation is analysed differently.. Inter-acting with both was very informative.

Both of them patiently explained and answered all our queries related to forecasting.

After an hour of interesting session with Dr.Milindji & Ghanekarji, we were taken to the conference hall, where presentation on various topics like SAFAR, MME forecasting model in general with special reference to Monsoon meteorology and Air Ocean interaction with Indian subcontinent monsoon.

Firstly M/S Aishwarya, gave presentation on System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research" known as "SAFAR" which has been setup, for the first time in India, at greater metropolitan cities of India to provide location specific information on air quality in near real time and its forecast 1-3 days in advance . It (Forecast) has been combined with the early warning system on weather parameters. And main objective of the project is to increase awareness among general public regarding the air quality in their city well in advance so that appropriate mitigation measures and systematic action can be taken up for betterment of air quality and related health issues. 

Then Dr Anant Parekh Ji Scientist D, explained how weather forecast models works and how important initial feeding parameters at T-0 helps in achieving accurate prediction and at T-0, if we have more errors then further expading and progressive  errors  go on expanding ! So for understanding proper initial conditions how data assimilating needs to be accurate . Dr. also enlightened us with his immense knowledge on Satellite Oceanography & Ocean Atmosphere and how it plays an important role in diagnosing the rainfall & temperature patterns across the globe .

Then Mr. Somanth Mahapatra Ji Scientist E, explained how IITM does MME forecast using the state-of-the-art Climate Forecast System Model Version 2 (CFSv2). Also introduced and explained the Monsoon Mission project management in which how for the  past 5 yrs Indian Southwest monsoon forecast probability was achieved correctly in All India estimation category .He enlightened us on Numerical weather prediction (NWP) using regional and Meso-scale models & Seasonal and extended range prediction of monsoon which are useful in knowing wet & dry phases in monsoon so that respected body can be aware of.

All this presentation went with live interaction, as queries from us were answered patiently.  

Later lunch arrangements was made for us in the IITM canteen. We had great lunch break time too. So we are really thankful for it.

After lunch we were taken to field visit, where we saw Cosmic Ray soil moisture monitoring system(COSMOS), is an latest soil moisture detecting instruments which are specially ordered from Germany,  and currently testing and research is carried out so in future it can be implemented to achieve accuracy in given diameter of farming area. This is the field-scale soil moisture measurement technique. Soil moisture variations are very important, and it is necessary to predict a "water run off" or "Water soaking" capacity of the soil. Important for farm sustenance.

And all it's technical configuration & working physics was very well explained by Mr. Mangesh Goswami, project scientist for COSMOS, who joined us for this field visit. Also Mr. Naresh Ganeshi an PhD student & Shreyas' batch-mate, Kunal, joined us for further all lab visits. ( interacting with upcoming weather scientist). 

Also we were shown SAFAR instruments which measures the air pollution and it's display which were reflecting live parameters like PM10, PM2.5, C0,NO2,O3.

Later we were guided to various scientific research labs of IITM like Isotope stable Mass Spectrometer Lab, Paleoclimatology Lab, Lightning Monitoring Lab and Tree-Ring Chronology ( Dendrology)Lab. At each Labs the scientists guided us and explained their respective ongoing research.

We are thankful to the arrangement and hospitality shown by all the IITM officials we met, answering our queries in details and explaining everything with patience.

Truly IITM is a pillar of Meteorology and Allied fields in India.