KOCHI: Acting on the state’s demand in the backdrop of the devastating mid-August floods, the Ministry of Earth Sciences will set up 100 automatic weather stations and automatic rain gauges within a year, Ministry of Earth Sciences secretary M Rajeevan said here the other day.
Apart from the radar stations in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, a new station will be opened in Mangaluru, which will cover the northern part of the state. With these three radar stations, we will be able to cover the entire state and issue warnings in case of any extreme weather events or cy clonic storms in the state, Rajeevan said. He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the new building of the Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology (CMLRE) in Kochi.
After cyclone Ockhi, the ministry had set up a cyclone warning centre in Thiruvananthapuram to specifically cater to the needs of the state. The ministry will allocate more funds and scientific staff to CMLRE to promote research in the field of marine ecology, Rajeevan said. He said two rooms in the new building will be allotted to the Ocean Society of India to promote research.