Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday announced that the India Meteorological Department is set to introduce a hyper-local weather forecasting system for Himalayan states, with seven districts in the Union Territory identified for the initiative. The move aims to strengthen early warning mechanisms, particularly for cloudburst-induced rainfall.
He said the IMD will also enhance weather monitoring infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir by installing four additional Doppler weather radars and deploying 34 automatic weather stations and snow gauges across the region.
He said the IMD also intends to strengthen monitoring infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir by installing four additional Doppler weather radars along with 34 automatic weather stations and snow gauges across the region.
In a written reply to a question of National Conference MLA Sajad Shaheen in the Assembly, The Chief Minister said the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has identified seven districts across Himalayan states for focused intervention.
Ramban and Kishtwar have been selected from Jammu and Kashmir.
“Past data on cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides spanning the last 15 years is available with the Meteorological Centre in Srinagar, and has been used to assess district-wise vulnerability,” the chief minister said.
Based on human casualties, infrastructure damage and losses to agriculture, horticulture and livestock, districts have been classified into high, medium and low vulnerability categories.
In the Jammu division, Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Reasi and Udhampur fall under the high-vulnerability category, while Rajouri, Poonch and Kathua are in the medium category.
“Jammu and Samba have been placed in the low-vulnerability group”, the chief minister said.
In the Kashmir division, Anantnag, Kulgam and Ganderbal have been identified as highly vulnerable, while Budgam, Shopian and Pulwama fall under medium vulnerability.
Srinagar, Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora have been categorised as low-vulnerability districts.
The CM said the IMD plans to install four additional doppler weather radars and 34 automatic weather stations and snow gauges in Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the existing three X-band radars located at Srinagar, Jammu and Banihal.
“The new radars are proposed at Doda, Rajouri, Anantnag and Baramulla to strengthen early warning and weather service delivery,” he said.
Further, 26 additional automatic weather stations and eight snow gauges are proposed to be installed in far-flung and hilly areas, including Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Rajouri, Udhampur, Kupwara, Bandipora, Baramulla and Shopian.
The expanded observational network would significantly enhance forecasting and disaster preparedness for hydro-meteorological events, he said.
An expert committee for Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (HVRA) has been constituted for Jammu and Kashmir to assess multi-hazard risks, prepare a hazard zonation framework and HVRA atlas, and integrate risk assessment outputs into planning and governance, he added.