In 2021, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) plans to install seven new doppler radars in Maharashtra, including Mumbai.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences commissioned two of ten indigenously built X-Band Doppler Weather Radars (DWR) in January 2021 to closely monitor weather changes over the Himalaya.
It is a type of radar that uses the Doppler effect to generate velocity data about distant objects.
Doppler effect: A change in frequency is observed by the observer when the source and the signal are in relative motion to each other.
As they get closer, the frequency increases, and vice versa.
The radar is based on the Doppler principle and aims to improve the accuracy of long-range weather forecasting and surveillance using a parabolic antenna and a foam sandwich spherical radome.
The DWR has the capability of measuring rainfall intensity, wind shear, and velocity, as well as locating a storm centre and the direction of a or gust front.