ISLAMABAD: Weather surveillance radars equipped with state-of-the-art technologies will soon cover the entire country as such radars are at an advanced stage of planning and will be built in Multan and Sukkur with the assistance of Japan.

Weather surveillance radars have started operation in Islamabad and Karachi, and an official of Pakistan Meteorological Department has said that the capacity of weather forecasting has been enhanced by Japanese assistance.

“We can now get exact positioning information of clouds through high-resolution images as compared to previous weather surveillance system. We can also provide advanced weather information to local communities, identify heavy rain areas, and issue early warning to local residents living downstream rivers which are expected to be flooded,” the official said.

Similarly, advanced weather information could also be provided to Islamabad International Airport, he said.

A Japanese engineer, who has worked in the installation of the radar in Islamabad, says that the weather surveillance radars being set up in Pakistan are same as those being used in Japan.

In 2019, the Japanese government, through Japan International Cooperation Agency, had assisted Pakistan in establishing the ‘specialised medium range weather forecasting centre’ in order to enhance not only the weather surveillance capacity, but also weather forecasting capability for the country.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2020