An Automatic Weather Station (AWS) was installed at the DFO’s office in Arunachal Pradesh’s Aalo.
The AWS was installed under the initiative of the State Climate Change Cell of the State Department of Environment and Forests.
DFO Abhinav Kumar inaugurated the high-precision AWS with a five-in-one weather sensor that gives outdoor environmental information.
Officials said the AWS by Acurite accurately measures different outdoor conditions, including the temperature in Centigrade or Fahrenheit, relative humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, heat index, dew points and storm alert.
It also gives the weather forecast for the next 24 hours.
The DFO during the inauguration sessions highlighted the importance of climate data for policymaking and planning of schemes and interventions.
He also advised the officials from District Disaster Management Cell for use of the climate data generated by the AWS for proper planning and preparedness for mitigating disasters in future.
A training programme was held after the inauguration of the weather stations where officials from the Forest Department and District Disaster Management Cell participated.
Bhupen Mili, a scientist at the State Climate Change Cell, made a presentation on activities of the cell, its achievements and also provided training on the AWS and the process of collection of data from it.
The functioning of automatic weather station was also demonstrated live to the participants during the training programme.
During the discussion session, IFS probationer DK Rawat emphasised the importance of engaging and creating awareness among local communities for successful implementation of climate change projects.
The programme was coordinated by Dohu Robin, Deputy Director (Environment) and programme coordinator of the State Climate Change Cell.
Robin was supported by the Centre’s Department of Science and Technology under National Mission on Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem.