Weather stations and forecasts

A weather station keeps all the weather instruments in one place and takes readings at regular times. That makes it easy to track the weather and forecast it.

An Automated Weather Station (AWS) runs by itself, using sensors to record temperature, humidity, wind, rain and pressure, with no person needed. They are used in farming, flying, shipping and watching the environment, and can stand where nobody could live. In 2023, the National Disaster Management Authority set one up beside a glacial lake in Sikkim, over 4800 m high, to give early warning of bad weather.

Meteorologists study years of data to predict the weather. This matters more and more, because climate change is making droughts, floods and cyclones more frequent.

Good forecasts let us get ready. Governments can gather help in advance; fishermen are warned not to go to sea in a storm; a whole coast may be evacuated before a cyclone. The IMD issues colour-coded maps: no warning, watch (stay updated), alert (be prepared), warning (take action).

To sum up: temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind and pressure together make up the weather, and each is measured with its own instrument. At different times, one element stands out: rain in July, temperature in May and December, pressure when a cyclone moves, and wind when the loo (strong, hot, dusty summer winds in north India) blows or forest fires spread.