Travellers flying from Jaipur airport would be able to get advance weather information particularly on dense fog conditions. On an average, dense fog across North West India delays the schedule of over 80-100 flights in any given airport owing to runway visibility being less than 50 meters.
The service is being introduced to disseminate information in user-friendly way to the passengers. Earlier, meteorological watch office was only sending information to flight operators and pilots in coded language.
India's advanced weather satellite, the Insat 3D, is also expected to provide fog information in a regular period. "Insat 3D will revolutionize the fog forecasting. The Met. Dept. will be able to get every 30 minutes news on fog development even in night, which the current Kalpana satellite was unable to do so.
Further, the India Meteorological Department on a trial basis would be giving information based on 3-4 dynamic models like the weather research forecast model, which is currently being used to forecast cyclones and rain.
Annually, a significant number of flights are being diverted, delayed and cancelled, creating inconveniences to commuters flying in the months from mid-December till mid-February. Now, this initiative would help passengers plan, cancel or reschedule their travel accordingly.
