Winter fog experiment (WIFEX)

 

The presence of heavy fog over an extended period in the northern region had led Pune researchers at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology to launch a winter fog experiment (WIFEX).

 

With this, the fog visibility reports will be provided to major road & rail networks in the northern region of the country. Reports will also be sent to airports in Jaipur, Varanasi and Lucknow. Fog visibility forecasts have been sent to Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi for the last three years.

 

Highlights

• Fog is a visible mass consisting of cloud water droplets suspended in the air or near the Earth’s surface.
• Land-use changes and increasing pollution in the region are responsible for growing Fog occurrence.

 

Aim

• The aim of the experiment had been to understand the different physical and chemical features of fog and identifying the factors responsible for its genesis, intensity and duration.
• Similarly, meteorological conditions like humidity, wind and synoptic conditions are also not well studied. Improved understanding on these aspects is required to develop reliable forecasting models and observational techniques for accurate prediction of Fog events.

 

Goal

The goal of the Winter Fog Experiment (WIFEX) was to develop methods to forecast winter fog on various temporal and spatial scales, and help reduce its adverse impact on aviation, transportation, the economy and loss of human life due to accidents.

 

Working Process

• Extensive sets of comprehensive ground-based instrumentation, including remote sensing platforms, are deployed at several places such as the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.
• Major in-situ sensors are deployed to measure surface micro meteorological conditions, radiation balance, turbulence, the thermo-dynamical structure of the surface layer, fog droplet and aerosol microphysics, aerosol optical properties, real-time sky images, and aerosol and fog water chemistry to describe the complete environmental conditions in which fog develops.
• These measurements will form the basis for understanding the fog formation and dispersion.

 

Source: Indian Express

 

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