Important Ongoing Projects

• Establishment of UV Radiation monitoring network: UV radiation contributes less than 4 per cent of the total solar radiant energy, it has far reaching effect on the human activities and the life on the earth.  They cause skin cancer on overexposure and deterioration on fabric and other materials.  The more damaging ultraviolet rays in the range 300-320 nm will destroy small living beings like plankton and algae which will have an upward destructive effect on the living beings.  UV radiation is not being measured in any systematic way and on a network scale.  This is being taken up now.


• Augmentation of Radiation Network in India: The sun is the main source of energy for all activities on the earth.  It is the trigger for various energy exchanges that occur and have immense and serious effect on all aspects of life on earth.  there are 44 stations at present making measurements of various parameters.  They are based on old technology which can be modified to obtain more accurate data on real time basis.  This scheme is being attended to on a very high priority.


• Establishment of Aerosol Monitoring Network India was for long being subjected to only natural pollutants arising out of dust particles released from loose soil by strong winds.  The urban pollutants were negligible.  But the developmental activities over the past five decades have contributed to the industrial and urban pollutants to a high degree creating concerns over its effect on the health of people of the country.  They have not yet reached the level of irreversible atmospheric conditions.  IMD is carrying out the pollution monitoring for over three decades but with simple and elementary instrumentation.  Radiometric monitoring which does not disturb the atmospheric condition will enable an easy system to study the effects of pollution.