Realtime weather forecast for Delhi Commonwealth Games

New Delhi, Mar 6 (UNI) A brand new Indian satellite will be giving realtime weather forecast to help the organisers when the national capital hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

The windspeed, temperature and humidity at all venues of the Games for the next two days will be available on weather information booths and official websites.

For the first time in the Games' history, the weather forecast will also be given on mobile phones and in the offing, is an exclusive weather TV channel.

''The most modern weather forecast system will be in place by 2009, in time for the Delhi Commonwealth Games,'' Kapil Sibal, Science and Technology Minister told a news conference today.

The Commonwealth Games is to be held in Delhi during October 3-14, 2010.

The forecast for the Delhi Games will be better than the Melbourne Games which begins next week, according to Dr A K Bohra, Director, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) at Noida.

The 1996 Atlanta Olympics was the first sports event to use realtime weather forecast, followed by the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games.

According to Mr Sibal, all venues of the Delhi Games will have online display of weather information. ''This will help the organisers schedule events like archery and shooting where windspeeds play a crucial role,'' he added.

The realtime forecast will be made possible by the launch of the Insat-3D satellite in 2007. NCMRWF will get more scientists, super computers and doppler radars to analyse data. The centre will be able to forecast weather specifically around a one-km area Dr Bohra said.

''It is the first time that a realtime weather forecast is being attempted at a sports event for a tropical region like Delhi,'' said Mr Sibal.

The forecast for the Delhi Games, 2010 is part of the plan to modernise weather forecast in the country. The Government hopes to give district-level forecast within a few years to help the farmers.

The mega cities in the country will be covered under the plan by 2010 to avoid a repeat of the Mumbai floods when the civil agencies were caught offguard by the torrential rains. Automatic weather stations are also on the anvil.

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