The new initiative can prevent massive disasters
Before the freezing fog returns to the north-western part of the country next winter, the Government's plan to provide new fog forecasting information, at least 24 hours in advance, is good news. But, such preventive measures should have come long ago. India suffers from thick fog in its north-western States, starting from December to February. As the fog menace has drastically increased in recent years, due to heavy pollution and land use changes, it has had a direct bearing on both vehicular movement and economic activities across these States. This also reminds us that the alarming signals for a heavy toll on our lives are on their way, unless we stop polluting the environment.
The new model of fog forecasting will be launched by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) initially at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport from this month. This will be a part of a three-month long observational campaign by the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). It is highlighted by the IITM that the campaign will offer scientists and researchers, an opportunity to experiment their model on numerous temporal and spatial scales at the IGI airport. Sources say that the IGI airport encounters heavy loss of working hours each year, because of fog. And, testing the new fog forecasting model here itself, will enormously help the IITM to devise an almost accurate mechanism to handle the fog next winter. It is learnt that the IITM will use advanced forecasting methods to warn people to reduce the impact of the fog on aviation, rail and road transport movements. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has been issuing weather reports since long, but the new drive by the IITM will further improve capability in predicting the movement of fog.
However, the IMD, which has already developed a wide network with the disaster management agencies of the Government, at national, regional and local levels, can be of great help for the IITM, while implementing the new model. Various research-based studies indicate that fog occurs nearly 48 days across the north-western States. And, the successive winters show that fog disasters have become a potential impediment, mainly for commuters on the road. A note from the MoES says that it has taken up a multi-institutional initiative to conduct an intensive ground-based measurement campaign in the national capital to understand the various chemical and physical aspects of fog. Reports say that this pilot study has also been used to map different factors responsible for the origin, intensity and duration of fog in this zone. Therefore, the ministry's current move under the guidance of the scientists at the IITM, will be able to decode various features, variability of fog events and associated dynamics, thermo-dynamics and, finally, fog micro-physics for the coming winter season. One can only keep one’s fingers crossed, hoping for the success of the new initiative.