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IMD Pune celebrates World Meteorological Day
Along with the exhibition documentary, students also enjoyed familiarising themselves with different weather departments
PUNE: An exhibition was organised by Climate Research Services Pune, India Meteorological Department (IMD), at the Shimla office, Pune, on Wednesday, March 23, on the occasion of World Meteorological Day. The theme this year was ‘early warning and early action’ and several school and college students participated in the exhibition. One of the highlights of the exhibition was a 30-minute documentary on Antartica, where the IMD officials had stayed for 17 months.
Sharad Gursale, an IMD official who travelled to Antartica in November 2019, said that his expedition was extended due to the pandemic. “I was in Antarctica till May 2021. This was my third expedition. I have done two winter cycles that are around 14 to 18 months and one summer cycle that is around three to four months. The experience was enriching each time,” said Gursale. He added that he underwent training for physical and psychological fitness before the Antartica expedition as the environment there is more challenging.
“While we were in Antarctica, we worked 24 x 7. We took real-time data and shared it with other agencies. The data was used and analysed. Our research in Antarctica was about the ozone hole,” said Gursale. He added that Antarctica holds nearly 70% of the world’s fresh water in ice form. “And so it is more important environmentally. Moreover, many weather events can affect global warming and in turn the continent itself,” said Gursale.
Along with the documentary, students also enjoyed familiarising themselves with different weather departments. IMD officials organised stalls that explained weather phenomenon such as thunderstorms, rainfall, cyclone formation and others. Officials explained the variety of clouds that bring rainfall in specific seasons.
