With a tormenting memory of last year’s devastating Mundakkai – Choralalamala land landslide in Wayanad still fresh in the minds of the people of Kerala, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) intensified its efforts to increase the accuracy of the weather forecast.
The newly authorized radar in Mangalur is expected to significantly strengthen localized weather forecasting for the region.
The regional director of IMD Neeth K. Gopal said on Tuesday (May 13) that within the existing “Nowcast” system, which provides the weather update in real time, the department would now issue a hyper-blocked warning. This means a shift from the current system that provides information about weather throughout the district.
“With a new radar analysis, we will be able to provide a more localized system warning against the current practice of providing district warnings,” said Gopal. The Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Wayanad district will be covered with a new radar.
“When we are able to provide localized weather information, a warning may not be issued for the whole district, but only for an area that will be influenced,” she said.
IMD employees are now trained to provide this data precisely, and alerts will be issued in English and Malayalam to the public, preventing translation delayed, Mrs. Gopal added.
The southwest monsoon has already reached Andamans, their first entrance point, and is expected to hit the coast of Kerala 27 May.
The beginning of the monsoon this year is previously than usual. The southwestern monsoon usually travels from Andamans to the Keraral coast in 10 days and the director said that this year it is also going on the same period of time and that there are no disturbances.
“We don’t see any chances of creating cyclonic storms or low pressure on the road, because these are factors that usually disrupt the smooth procedure of the monsoon,” she added.
The direction of the cloud movement has already changed from east to west to the east and brought showers in various parts of Kerala in front of Monsoon. Western winds are expected to bring more rains and increase the level of soil saturation in Kerala.
This year, IMD predicted above the normal monsoon throughout India. This is associated with an increased level of soil saturation, is a possible recipe for natural disasters such as land landslides, officials said.
Kerala witnessed extreme weather events in recent history and localized weather warnings would help the state authorities better prepare, they added.
Published – May 13, 2025 17:18
