Thiruvananthapuram: The first cyclone warning centre in the state set up at meteorological centre, observatory hills here, will be inaugurated by Dr. M. Rajeevan, secretary, of union ministry for earth sciences, on Tuesday. This is the fourth CWC in the country.
The union ministry had decided to set up a unit here following tropical cyclones and floods, including Ockhi, occurring on the Kerala and Karnataka coasts in the recent times. The CWC will monitor weather conditions and issue special bulletins to disaster managers during cyclonic storms and depressions affecting coastal states of Kerala and Karnataka and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
It would also issue cyclone warnings to central and state government officials, ports and fishermen, coastal weather bulletins for ships lying in coastal waters and weather broadcast bulletins for dissemination to the general public.
"It was after the Ockhi cyclone that the centre decided to set up a CWC here," said Mr K. Santhosh, director of meteorology department.
The CWC would function under the area cyclone warning centre in Chennai under the guidance of the regional specialized meteorological centre (RSMC), New Delhi. The existing CWCs are in Ahmedabad, Bhuvaneshwar and Visakhapatnam. Dr. K. J. Ramesh, director-general of meteorology, IMD, New Delhi, will also attend the inaugural programme.
