No Doppler Radar for space-starved Mumbai

MUMBAI: The metropolis may not get the much hyped hi-tech Doppler Radar Warning System for heavy rains and cyclone as scientists at local weather office are finding it difficult to locate a site for its installation.

"High-rise buildings do not allow the unobstructed view of over five km radius and we are trying our best to locate a site for commissioning doppler radar," India Meteorological Department Deputy Director General C V V Bhadran said.

Following the unusual heavy rainfall of July 26, the department decided to install doppler radars in Mumbai and few more places on the western coast.

The state-of-the-art Doppler Radar technology is used all over the world for better forecast with more scientific inputs than normal cyclone detection radars and needs unobstructed view of over five km radius.

"But in Mumbai, it is difficult to locate a site for that," Bhadran said.

"The antenna of the radar weighs 15 tonnes and we tried some of the tallest buildings and hills including Trombay hill, but the number of high rise buildings in the city do not permit for an unobstructed view of five km radius," he said.

Doppler radar also helps in short period predictions of heavy rains and cyclones. Bhadran also said it was difficult to get fresh land from the state government to install the radar.

"We had proposed to the Central government to install the Doppler radars along the coasts of Gujarat, Goa, Kerala and Mumbai.

"In other places, we should not face such problems," Bhadram said.