PMD to install 300 weather stations

Project costing $500m to be supported by WB, will include modern equipment

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has decided to purchase the most advanced equipment for early forecasting of weather change and unexpected situation.

Under the project, 300 automatic weather stations will be installed, five fixed surveillance radars and three portable radars are included in the project. The project will be completed in three years with the support of the World Bank.

According to Sahibzad Khan, the Director General of Meteorological Department, the installation of modern meteorological equipment in different cities of Pakistan will cost $500 million.

Under the project, 300 automatic weather stations will be installed in different cities of the country, while five fixed surveillance radars will be installed in different cities of the country and three portable surveillance radars (with the fastest computer network) will also be purchased.

Sahibzad Khan said in a conversation with The Express Tribune that two radars will be installed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cities of Cherat and Dera Ismail Khan, two in Quetta and Gawadar, while one radar will be installed in Lahore. Karachi already has state-of-the-art radar station.

He mentioned that out of 300 automatic weather stations, maximum number of 105 will be installed in Balochistan, 85 in rural Sindh including Karachi, 75 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while 35 will be installed in Punjab.