The Doppler Radar of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Hyderabad centre in Begumpet
| Photo Credit: Serish Nanisetti
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is planning to strengthen and expand its weather observation infrastructure across Telangana under the Centre’s Mission Mausam initiative.“The department is working on plans to install additional weather monitoring infrastructure in the State, including new observation stations, Doppler weather radars and wind profilers, though the process will take time,” said Dharma Raju, Scientist at IMD Centre Hyderabad.According to him, IMD is set to receive two additional Doppler weather radars for Telangana. One radar is proposed near Nizamabad, while another is planned in the Shamshabad region near Hyderabad. The department is also planning to introduce wind profilers in the State to improve atmospheric monitoring and weather prediction capabilities.At present, IMD operates a comparatively limited observation network in Telangana compared to the Telangana Development Planning Society (TGDPS), which provides temperature readings from all 33 districts. IMD currently provides temperature readings from just 12 locations in the State.But even as IMD prepares to expand its network, another question has been dominating Telangana’s summer conversations: why do IMD and TGDPS often report different maximum temperatures on the same day? On May 23, TGDPS reported a highest maximum temperature of 46.3°C in Telangana, while IMD advisories reflected temperatures closer to 44.8°C. According to Mr. Raju, the answer lies in the way the two systems collect weather data.“The difference mainly arises because the two systems use different types of instruments, observation methods and installation standards. TGDPS largely depends on automated observatories, whereas IMD follows standardised meteorological protocols involving regular calibration, maintenance and manual inspection of instruments,” he explained.One of the biggest reasons for variation, he said, is where the weather sensors are installed. Many automated weather stations used by TGDPS are installed on rooftops, which absorb and radiate heat during peak summer afternoons. That reflected heat also gets captured by the sensor, resulting in comparatively higher temperature readings.IMD instruments, in contrast, are not installed on rooftops. Mr. Raju said the department follows internationally accepted meteorological observation standards and places temperature sensors around 2.5 metres above the earth’s surface to minimise artificial heat interference. “The difference also extends to the quality and cost of instruments used by the two systems,” he added. Published - May 24, 2026 08:40 pm IST
