INTERNSHIP REPORT

Regional Meteorological Centre Nagpur

India Meteorological Department

(Ministry of Earth Sciences Government of India)

Internship duration: Six weeks

Name of Interns
❖ Ayushi Pedulwar (B.E. in Electronics Design Technology)

❖ Vaishnavi Ghatole (B.E. in Electronics and Communication)

❖ Vaishnavi Kerde (B.E. in Electronics and Communication)

❖ Rushikesh Mahajan (B.E. in Electronics Design Technology)

Students of
Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering and Management

(B.E. VI-SEM)
(Session 2020-21)
Date: 1 / 06 / 2021

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 Contents

Introduction Page 3

Acknowledgement Page 4

History of IMD Page 5

Departments at RMC Nagpur

1. RADAR
2. AMSS & Data Entry
3. AMO
Page 6
4. RSRW
5. PBO
6. RWFC
7. Radiation

Conclusion Page 13

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 Introduction

As a part of our Bachelor of Engineering program we did a six-week internship at Regional

Meteorological Centre, Nagpur India Meteorological Department, (Ministry of Earth Sciences
Government of India). Currently there are seven departments which includes RADAR, AMSS and Data
entry, AMO, RSRW, PBO, RWFC, Radiation. Our job was to analyze and learn the workflow &
environment in which these departments were working. Being a six-week internship each week we had
to visit different departments and communicate with the respective head of the department who used to
help us with the training and observation.

We started our internship by reading the basics and fundamentals which we thought would help
us during the training process which includes atmospheric phenomena, such as clouds, winds,
precipitation and the processes that produce the same. We were highly fascinated by the fact that some
people have the ability to predict rains and floods based on annual cycles & the curiosity made us opt for
the internship.

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 Acknowledgment

The internship opportunity we had with Regional Meteorological Centre Nagpur

was a great chance for learning and professional development. We consider ourselves as
very lucky individuals as we were provided with an opportunity to be a part of it. We are
also grateful for having a chance to meet so many wonderful people and professionals
who led us through this internship period.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude and special thanks to the Dr. Aakre &
Mrs. Lata Shridhar and Mr. Milind Phadke of [Regional Meteorological Centre
Nagpur] who in spite being busy with their duties, took time out to hear, guide and keep
us on the correct path and allowing us to carry out the internship/training at their
organization. We are also very grateful for being understanding to extending the
internship durations considering our safety and convenience during the pandemic
situation.

We perceive this opportunity as a big milestone in our career development. We will strive
to use these gained skills and knowledge in the best possible way, and we will continue to
work on their improvement, in order to attain desired career objectives. Hope to continue
cooperation with all of you in the future.

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 History of Indian Meteorological Department

India is fortunate to have some of the oldest meteorological observatories of the world. The
British East India Company established several such stations, for example, those at Calcutta in 1785
and Madras (now Chennai) in 1796 for studying the weather and climate of India. The Asiatic
Society of Bengal founded in 1784 at Calcutta, and in 1804 at Bombay (now Mumbai), promoted
scientific studies in meteorology in India. Captain Harry Piddington at Calcutta published 40 papers
during 1835-1855 in the Journal of the Asiatic Society dealing with tropical storms and coined the
word "cyclone", meaning the coil of a snake. In 1842 he published his monumental work on the
"Laws of the Storms". In the first half of the 19th century, several observatories began functioning in
India under the provincial governments.
A disastrous tropical cyclone struck Calcutta in 1864 and this was followed by failures of the
monsoon rains in 1866 and 1871. In the year 1875, the Government of India established the India
Meteorological Department, bringing all meteorological work in the country under a central
authority. Mr. H. F. Blanford was appointed Meteorological Reporter to the Government of India.
The first Director General of Observatories was Sir John Eliot who was appointed in May 1889 at
Calcutta headquarters. The headquarters of IMD were later shifted to Shimla, then to Poona (now
Pune) and finally to New Delhi.
From a modest beginning in 1875, IMD has progressively expanded its infrastructure for
meteorological observations, communications, forecasting and weather services and it has achieved
a parallel scientific growth. IMD has always used contemporary technology. In the telegraph age, it
made extensive use of weather telegrams for collecting observational data and sending warnings.
Later IMD became the first organization in India to have a message switching computer for
supporting its global data exchange. One of the first few electronic computers introduced in the
country was provided to IMD for scientific applications in meteorology. India was the first
developing country in the world to have its own geostationary satellite, INSAT, for continuous
weather monitoring of this part of the globe and particularly for cyclone warning.

IMD has continuously ventured into new areas of application and service, and steadily built
upon its infra-structure in its history of 140 years. It has simultaneously nurtured the growth of
meteorology and atmospheric science in India. Today, meteorology in India is poised at the threshold
of an exciting future.

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 Departments at RMC Nagpur
RADAR
Doppler Weather Radars are the basic and most important tool for a Meteorologist for Nowcasting and
Forecasting of various severe weather events. RMC is executing the network of 12 numbers S Band
Metstar WSR-98D with Vaisala signal processor and IRIS application software in India. S band radars
operate on a wavelength of 8-15 cm and a frequency of 2-4 GHz and give advantage of less attenuation.
This makes them useful for near and far range weather observation.
The size of the Antenna is 8.5 meters and it requires a large motor to power it. To shelter the antenna
from adverse weather conditions with minimal attenuation of electromagnetic signals a Radome is
installed with it.

Weather radars detect the motion of rain droplets in addition to the intensity of the precipitation. Data is
analyzed to determine the structure of storms, wind patterns and their potential to cause severe weather.
It is used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.).
Doppler Weather Radar Products can be used for the following applications:

• Weather surveillance
• Severe weather monitoring
• Hurricane, typhoon, and cyclone tracking
• Hail detection
• Hydrometeorological applications, such as flood forecasting
• Airport wind-shear detection
• Meteorological research
• Weather modification
• Agriculture
• Radiosonde Launch support systems

This section was completed in the first week of internship from 22/03/2021 to 26/03/2020. We were
extremely grateful for the knowledge Mr. Y. Lokhande had shared with us.

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 AMSS & Data Entry
Automatic Messages Switching System

Met telecommunication is very much required for exchange of Met data in real time for proper
utilization of met observations taken at different scheduled times Globally throughout the day on a
regular basis. To meet the requirement, IMD is having Regional Telecom Hub (RTH) at New Delhi. It is
connected with other International & seven AMSS Installed in RMC’s. One AMSS is also installed at
RMC Nagpur. Met data is also received at different AMSS & RTH through other means of
communication viz. VPN (Virtual Private Network), FAX, VSAT, SMS, Telephone, etc.

Main purpose of AMSS is to receive, check and forward automatically, meteorological data and products
according to the WMO standards.
The TRANSMET software is the most Automatic Messages Switching System (AMSS) available. It
exchanges both types of Data Flow (Input and Output Data Flow).

It exchanges both types of Data Flow (Input and Output Data Flow). It offers a modern Graphical User
Interface (GUI), connected with its Main Servers through the use of Local Area Network (LAN) to meet
the requirements of National Meteorological entrées and Regional Telecommunication Hubs.

Data formats used by AMSS are CREX, BUFR, GRIB, ASCII.

BUFR - The Binary Universal Form for the Representation of Meteorological Data (BUFR) is a binary
data format maintained by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
A BUFR message is composed of six sections, numbered zero through five.

• Sections 0, 1 and 5 contain static metadata, mostly for message identification.

• Section 2 is optional; if used, it may contain arbitrary data in any form wished for by the creator
of the message (this is only advisable for local use).

• Section 3 contains a sequence of so-called descriptors that define the form and contents of the
BUFR data product.

• Section 4 is a bit-stream containing the message's core data and meta-data values as laid out by
Section 3.

This section was completed in the week from 29/03/2021 to 02/04/2020. We were thankful for the
knowledge Mr.Rahul had shared with us.

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 AMO
Aerodrome Meteorological Office

AMO obtains and monitors Current Weather Data using airport instruments and sensors, every one
second for wind, Temperature, Humidity, pressure parameters, from one Runway site to Multiple
Runway sites and also obtains manual data entry of observations for which sensors are not available viz.
Present Weather, Clouds, Gen Visibility, Runway Visual Range & Trend etc.
All the data recorded goes to AMSS and OLBS and is made available to all Meteorological Centers/
stations. The data is further processed to find safe flight times, altitude, route and given to ATC or Pilot.
Field system is present at each runway site. It has
• Wind Direction sensor,
• Wind speed sensor,
• Air Temperature & Humidity Combined sensor,
• Atmospheric Pressure Sensor
• Data logger - Analog channels (8nos), Digital Channels (RS232) (4), Ethernet Port
• Wireless Modem for Data Transmission

For Safety of Taking Off & Landing Meteorological Parameters Wind, Pressure, Temperature & Dew
Point, RVR, Clouds, Present Weather & Wind shear etc is to be monitored, Processed & displayed in
front of ATC for communicating to Air Borne Pilot.
A New Aviation Weather Observing System is designed & developed by Surface Instruments Division
for Continuous monitoring of Aviation Met Parameters & Generation of all Reports required for
Aviation Industry.

This section was completed in the week from 05/04/2021 to 09/04/2020. We were thankful for the
knowledge Mr. R. B. Chinchghare had shared with us.

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 RS/RW
RadioSonde/ Radio Wind
IMD has a network of 39 upper air stations taking RS/RW observations twice daily. For upper air
observations balloons are released twice daily at 00:00 UTC & 12:00 UTC with a Radiosonde (RS).

• RadioSonde transmitter system transmits meteorological data i.e temperature, humidity and
atmosphere pressure at different levels, upper air wind direction.
• The balloon location is tracked for upper air wind data (Wind direction and wind speed) with
the help of GPS installed in transmitter (earlier with theodolites).
• For measurement of upper air atmospheric pressure profile, the radiosonde uses a mechanical
pressure sensor called baroswitch. The baroswitch works on the principle of vacuumization. It
consists of 37 different mechanical parts. All these parts are being manufactured and assembled
together in IMD workshop. The baroswitch works as a pressure sensor as well as a switching
device for selection of modulating entities like temperature, pressure and humidity.
• The RadioSonde ballon is filled with 1000 gms of Hydrogen gas and can go upto 20-30 kms, at
a speed of 5meter/s and provides data continuously upto 45-60 mins. Their operation radio
frequency is 403 MHz or 1680 MHz.

The parameter values indicated by the sensors are suitably converted and communicated to the ground
station with the help of the transmitter and receiver link. The data is analyzed to get the atmospheric
parameter values. The accuracy of the radiosonde, receiver electronics and the software algorithm all
contribute to the correct atmospheric sensing.

The explanation of this unit was given by Mr. Milind Phadke we are very grateful to him for sharing his
in-depth knowledge of the instruments with us.

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 PBO
Pilot Ballon Observatories

This section comprises of Surface meteorological observatory instruments.

• The observatories are equipped with both eye-reading and self-recording instruments.
• Regular observations are taken at least twice daily as per standard rules.

The basic surface instruments at any meteorological observatories are

1. Mercury Barometer
2. Stevenson screen - has Four Thermometers i.e., Dry Bulb, Wet Bulb, Maximum and Minimum fixed
inside the Thermometer screen.
3. Double Stevenson Screen - consists of a Hygrograph for recording humidity and a Thermograph to
record temperature. The readings are continuously recorded on graph with parameter against time.
4. Self recording Rain Gauge and Measure glass.
5. Pan Evaporator
6. Barograph
7. Wind instruments – Wind vane and Anemometer.
8. AWS - Automatic Weather Station . Meteorological station at which observations are made and
transmitted automatically and their use increase the number and reliability of surface observation
without human assistance.

This section was completed in the week from 06/06/2021 to 12/04/2020. We are very much grateful for
the knowledge Mr. Milind Phadke had shared with us regarding RSRW & PBO.

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 RWFC
Regional Weather Forecast Centre

Numerical weather prediction (NWP) is a method of weather forecasting that employs a set of Hydro-
dynamical equations that describe the motion in the atmosphere and oceans to predict the future weather
condition based on current weather conditions Current weather observations serve as input (initial
condition) to the NWP models through a process known as data assimilation to produce weather forecast
of temperature, wind, precipitation, and other meteorological parameters.

There are 3 steps involved in the NWP modelling system.

• Pre-processing initial condition

In the pre-processing, observed data available at unevenly spaced observing station points are subjected
to different quality control checks, followed by interpolation techniques to prepare initial conditions
through a process known as data assimilation. Data assimilation is the science of combining different
sources of information to estimate possible states of a system.

• NWP model processing

With the above initial conditions, the dynamical equations are numerically integrated forward with time
in the model. After integration, future values of model variables are different grid points are generated
known as direct raw model output

• Post processing
These above raw modes output may be of very little use for the weather forecasters rather forecasters
may like to have specific weather information ke rainfall variability divergence vorticity precipitable
water content different convective indices etc.

Thank you Mrs. Reena Surpam (Met A, RMC ) for your precious knowledge in this domain.

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 RADIATION

At the radiation observatory section, Shortwave Solar radiation and long wave Atmospheric (Terrestrial)
radiation, Sunshine duration, sunrise and sunset time are measured.
For various climate studies purposes, climatology, meteorology, building physics, solar energy studies
the observation of solar radiation types and measure the power of the light and heat from the sun is very
important. They are also used in weather stations and are usually installed in a horizontal manner near
solar panels. The level of possible measurement of a solar radiation sensor will vary based on the
position of the sun. The solar radiation spectrum comprises of Ultraviolet, Visible, and infrared
radiation. All these were observed with variety of instruments present at terrace observatory at RMC.

• Three main types of Solar radiation observation and recording seen was of:
1. Direct Radiation: Normal incidence Pyrheliometer, a instrument mounted on a solar tracker, is
used to measure direct beam solar irradiance. This also tracks sunrise and sunset time.
2. Diffuse Radiation: Diffuse Pyranometer is the device used for this purpose, it measures solar
irradiance from a hemispherical field of view incident on a flat surface. The SI units of
irradiance are watts per square meter (W/m²).
3. Terrestrial Radiation or Global Radiation - Electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Earth’s
surface and atmosphere is called terrestrial or longwave radiation (the latter being the
preference of the World Meteorological Organization). Since these bodies exhibit temperatures
in the range 200–300 K, terrestrial radiation lies in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum. The global irradiance includes direct sunlight and diffuse sunlight

• The Ultraviolet spectrum of Solar radiation is measured by the UV Radiometer. It measures UVA
and UVB bands of the spectrum.

• For tracking Visible light of Sun:

1. Sunshine Recorder (Campbell strokes recorder) - The unit is designed to record the hours of
bright sunshine which will burn a hole through the card. A glass sphere (typically 10 cm in
diameter) is designed to focus the rays from the sun onto a recording card mounted at the back and
is set on a stand. The length of the burn trace left on the card represents the sunshine duration.

2. Sunshine Recorder (By CSD3): Sunshine duration is defined by WMO as the time during which
the direct solar radiation exceeds the level of 120W/m². It makes use of three photo-diodes with
specially designed diffusers to make an analogue calculation of sun exposure. The switching of the
output is done too high or low in order to indicate sunny or not sunny conditions. This method of
measurement significantly overestimates sunshine duration on days when the sun is frequently
shaded by passing clouds.

This section was completed in the week from 06/06/2021 to 12/04/2020. Very grateful of Mr. Avinash
Tarodekar for sharing his knowledge & expertise in the field of Radiation.


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 Conclusion
We can honestly say that our time spent interning with RMC Nagpur resulted in one of the best times of
our academics. Not only did we gain practical skills but we also had the opportunity to meet many
fantastic people. The atmosphere at the RMC office was always welcoming which made us feel right at
home.
While we were able to learn a lot from normal college life, every day was a memorable one at RMC. We
were able to make connections with the staff and also friendly connections with newly recruited
members there. It was a great experience to interact with everyone during the internship.
Overall, our internship at RMC Nagpur has been a success. We were able to gain practical skills, learn in
a fantastic environment, and make connections that will last a lifetime. We could not be more thankful.

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