Kochi cloudburst puts question mark on capability of IMD to forecast severe weather events

The cloudburst event that occurred in Kochi on May 28 has put a serious question mark on the credibility and capability of the severe weather events forecasted by the India Meteorological Department in the State. The IMD on Wednesday confirmed that the weather event witnessed by Thrikkakara in Ernakulam on May 28 recording 100 mm of rain in an hour as a cloud burst with the rain gauge of the Automatic Weather Station installed at the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research, CUSAT campus, Thrikkakara, capturing 103 mm of rainfall in one hour. However, the IMD failed to take note of the emergence of the severe weather event and issue warnings in advance, giving time for various agencies to mobilise resources and to swing into action. Interestingly, the nowcast predicted rain only in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha for the next three hours, despite the IMD maintaining an S-band Doppler Weather Radar in Kochi, which is capable of providing information in advance on the wind and its variance, wind shear and velocity, and locating storm centres and the probability of severe weather events, including cloudbursts, etc.