CHENNAI: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) will soon set up a state-of-the-art laboratory in Munnar, in collaboration with College of Engineering, Munnar, to study the climate change scenario in south India, said IITM faculty. The laboratory will be located in the high altitude of Munnar as it is apt for the study. It will be extremely beneficial in studying and analysing pollution and the associated climate change, which are major concerns of the society now.
Sachin S Gunthe, an associate professor (civil engineering department) of IITM, who is instrumental in conducting the study, said College of Engineering Munnar has provided land for the laboratory inside the campus and its construction has already started. IITM will be spending on installations of the high-end equipment required in the laboratory. IITM faculty members said the pollution monitoring laboratory will be a first of its kind and around Rs 3 crore will be spent on procurement of equipment for the same.
IITM officials said it is important and relevant to study pollution and related climate change pattern, to design the future policies and to chalk strategies to deal with the problems that will emerge because of the climate change.
Gunthe said Munnar is very strategically located, being far from roads and urban areas; the data obtained will be compared with that obtained from urban areas, to estimate the impact of increasing pollution on the regional climate of South India.
Studies have already been performed on the campus of the College of Engineering, Munnar, and so far, three papers have been published in top-quality peer-reviewed journals. Gunthe and his team of researchers have started working on this project.“The laboratory will be extremely beneficial in studying climate change,” said Gunthe. IIT Madras has requested its alumni to contribute for setting up the laboratory.