Chennai: Tamil Nadu is expected to receive rainfall above the normal level during the ongoing northeast monsoon season. Releasing a report on the forecast for the 2014 northeast monsoon over south India, D. L.S. Rathore, director general of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), on Tuesday, said it is expected that the rainfall in Tamil Nadu during the monsoon months of October to December was most likely to match or exceed the long period average of 438.2 mm. The NE monsoon contributes to about 48 per cent of the state’s total rainfall.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, Dr. Rathore said that the Met department was striving to keep pace with the evolving technology as far as weather observation and prediction were concerned. “We are fairly at par with developed countries, though there are still gaps that are currently being filled in,” he said.
The Met department is using radar observations to develop Nowcast features for predicting the weather for the next two or three hours in about 118 cities. Now, that feature is being expanded into the next tier of cities and towns, he said. The department has also envisaged developing a mechanism to enable a broader network capability by collaborating with private weather observation players, such as Accu Weather.
S.B. Thampi, deputy director general, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, spoke about the use of the WhatsApp messenger for disaster management. “Before Cyclone Hudhud struck the AP coast, we held a meeting with top government officials of the Tamil Nadu government, wherein it was decided to pass on crucial information to key administrators like the chief secretary, district collectors and others through WhatsApp. This has proved to be a good measure,” he said.
Rain hits NLC power production
Power generation at the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) was affected due to intermittent rain for the last three days leading to inundation of floodwater in open mines. The generation of power has come down to 1,500 mw as against its total capacity of 2,490 mw.
According to sources in NLC, lignite excavation is not possible if it rains continuously. With limited stock of lignite available in bunkers, the optimal generation has been maintained due to less power demand, sources said.
Unlike in summer, the demand for power during rainy season and winter would be much less, because of augmented hydelpower generation capacity. The NLC will, therefore, maintain generation as per the grid requirement during the period, and also utilise the time for maintenance, the official said.
