[ad_1]
Panaji: Goa will now have its own data on rain, wind, and climatic changes in protected areas following the installation of automated weather stations in sensitive wildlife zones.
The automated weather stations have been installed at Cotigao, Mollem, Valpoi, Bondla, and Mhadei.
“The data from the automated stations can be very useful for disaster management. It will help us come up with apt solutions in case of wildfires, landslides, or flooding,” said principal chief conservator of forests, Rajiv Kumar Gupta. “In the long term, we will use the data to study climate change.”
The stations will also ensure real-time mapping and monitoring of various weather parameters including temperature, humidity, wind speed, and rainfall.
The weather information will be recorded digitally and will be available on an app controlled by the state forest department. Forest management practices will be determined by this data on a range of matters, including precipitation and changes in leaf-fall patterns.
“Since the existing weather stations of the India Meteorological Department in Goa are in the town (settlement) areas, all these years we did not have weather data related to Goa’s forested areas,” a senior forest department official said. “Forest data usually differs from that of the state’s towns, villages, and coastal areas. The installation of the automated weather stations was therefore essential.”
Earlier this year, the state forest department issued a tender to procure five automated weather-monitoring stations. The department has taken up a project called ‘Short and Long Term Impact of Weather and Climate Change on Biodiversity of Protected Areas’. Under the project, the impact of climate change in protected areas will also be taken up with these automated weather stations. The project was approved in 2021 for Goa by the national entity concerned, Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
The automated weather stations have been installed at Cotigao, Mollem, Valpoi, Bondla, and Mhadei.
“The data from the automated stations can be very useful for disaster management. It will help us come up with apt solutions in case of wildfires, landslides, or flooding,” said principal chief conservator of forests, Rajiv Kumar Gupta. “In the long term, we will use the data to study climate change.”
The stations will also ensure real-time mapping and monitoring of various weather parameters including temperature, humidity, wind speed, and rainfall.
The weather information will be recorded digitally and will be available on an app controlled by the state forest department. Forest management practices will be determined by this data on a range of matters, including precipitation and changes in leaf-fall patterns.
“Since the existing weather stations of the India Meteorological Department in Goa are in the town (settlement) areas, all these years we did not have weather data related to Goa’s forested areas,” a senior forest department official said. “Forest data usually differs from that of the state’s towns, villages, and coastal areas. The installation of the automated weather stations was therefore essential.”
Earlier this year, the state forest department issued a tender to procure five automated weather-monitoring stations. The department has taken up a project called ‘Short and Long Term Impact of Weather and Climate Change on Biodiversity of Protected Areas’. Under the project, the impact of climate change in protected areas will also be taken up with these automated weather stations. The project was approved in 2021 for Goa by the national entity concerned, Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
[ad_2]
Source link