The recent announcement by the Indian Government regarding Mission Mausam Phase-II is an exciting step forward with the confirmation that one Automatic Weather Station (AWS) will be installed in the Union Territory in 2026 will move us toward building a Climate Resilient Future.
While one station may seem like a drop on a large map, it will have a tremendous amount of impact.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir have lived through the whims of an increasingly unstable climate for years; unseasonal rains, sudden cold waves and unpredictable snowfall have often turned hope into hardship.
Without real-time data, farmers have faced many challenges to protect their valuable fruit crops and to safely prepare and plan their farming activities.
This is where the new AWS will play a crucial role. Unlike traditional weather stations that require human effort, an Automatic Weather Station will be a Worker of Technology.
An AWS will provide highly local and immediate information on critical weather parameters such as temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed and soil moisture. When incorporated into Mission Mausam’s larger network, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) will use the data to create much more accurate block-level weather forecasts.
Precision is vitally important to farm production, the engine that drives the UT’s economy; by deploying an AWS, we will enhance the Agro-Advisory Services available to the farmers throughout the UT Region.
Farmers will have the benefit of much more detailed information from agro-advisory services than from taking forecast predictions that are provided at a regional level and making assumptions.
Farmers will have access to specific timeframes for the following activities: planting, irrigation, pesticide application, and harvesting.
This will have a significant positive effect on apple and saffron crops, which are both highly weather sensitive.
The Government of India continues to improve the region’s physical infrastructure by positioning the AWS to support Phase II of Mission Mausam.
This type of project is not only about help farmers improve their ability to produce food products; it is, above all, about protecting lives and property by giving farmers more advanced warning to take appropriate precautions before they are impacted by a weather event.
