ISRO announced on Tuesday that it has made significant strides in nowcasting (weather forecasting) for lightning events across India by leveraging data from Indian geostationary satellites. This achievement comes from the efforts of ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). The agency explained that atmospheric lightning results from complex interactions among meteorological parameters influenced by convective processes within the troposphere. Key contributors to these convection phenomena include surface radiation, temperature, and wind patterns.
Researchers at NRSC/ISRO detected lightning signatures through the Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) data gathered from the INSAT-3D satellite. A decrease in OLR strength serves as an indicator of potential lightning activity. The near real-time observations from the INSAT series were utilised to identify and detect these lightning signatures.
To improve lightning detection further, the team incorporated additional parameters, including Land Surface Temperature (LST) and wind, into a composite variable aimed at boosting predictive accuracy. ISRO stated that this composite variable aptly captures the fluctuations in lightning activity, as measured by ground-based sources. It offers a dependable indication of when lightning activity is likely to rise or fall, ultimately enhancing the prediction of both the occurrence and intensity of lightning. With this new composite variable, predictions can now be made with a lead time of about 2.5 hours.
In other news, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams addressed the challenges faced during their recent extended space mission during a news conference, noting a shift from a short-duration to a long-duration mission. They expressed openness to flying on Boeing's Starliner in the future. After completing over nine months at the International Space Station, facilitated by SpaceX, the astronauts acknowledged the significant public interest in their mission.
The emphasis was placed on the primary focus being the fulfillment of duties, with the mission often prioritized over personal concerns, including family matters.
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Inputs from PTI