India is set to deploy drones to gather atmospheric data that is currently collated by sending sensors through weather balloons released from at least 55 locations across the country twice every day. The sensors embedded in a radiosonde, which is a telemetry instrument carried by a weather balloon, record atmospheric pressure, temperature, wind direction and speed as the hydrogen-filled weather balloon soars up to 12KM height and transmit data to the ground receiver through radio signals.

• Various studies have suggested that specialised drones equipped with sensors to gather weather data could be an efficient successor to the traditional weather balloons.
• The drones have a key advantage over weather balloons as they can be controlled and guided to fly at low as well as high altitudes.

By: Brijesh Kumar