India has launched its first advanced SkyCast aviation weather monitoring system at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI Airport) in New Delhi, marking a major upgrade to the country's aviation safety and weather forecasting capabilities.
The system was inaugurated on Friday by Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, who described the development as a significant milestone for Indian aviation. According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, India has become the 19th country in the world to install the integrated atmospheric remote sensing platform, with only 18 similar systems currently operational globally.
The launch forms part of the government's broader Mission Mausam programme, which aims to strengthen weather forecasting infrastructure and improve resilience across critical sectors, including aviation.
The SkyCast facility has been established at IGI Airport's Glide Path 10 and combines multiple atmospheric sensing technologies into a single operational framework designed to support pilots, airlines, airport operators and air traffic management agencies.
According to officials from the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), the system delivers real-time atmospheric intelligence to improve weather awareness during critical phases of flight operations.
Key components of the system include:
• Radar Wind Profiler
• SODAR (Sonic Detection and Ranging)
• Microwave Radiometer
• Ground-based Fog Aerosol Spectrometer (GFAS)
• CL61 Lidar-based Ceilometer
Together, these technologies monitor fog, turbulence, visibility, moisture levels, aerosols and atmospheric dynamics that can affect aircraft take-offs and landings.
Officials said the system is expected to improve operational decision-making during adverse weather conditions, particularly in Delhi, where dense winter fog frequently disrupts flight schedules.
According to Dr Jitendra Singh, SkyCast can provide advance weather alerts to pilots and aircrew within short forecasting windows of around three hours, helping airlines and airport authorities better manage arrivals and departures.
The Minister said the platform is expected to contribute to:
• Reduced flight diversions
• Fewer weather-related delays
• Improved landing and take-off safety
• Enhanced turbulence monitoring
• Better runway visibility assessments
He added that the system could support efforts to minimise disruptions caused by fog and rapidly changing weather conditions.
At the heart of the SkyCast platform is a boundary-layer Radar Wind Profiler capable of continuously measuring atmospheric conditions up to nearly three kilometres above the airport.
The system tracks:
• Wind speed and wind direction
• Vertical air movement
• Turbulence intensity
• Boundary-layer dynamics
• Atmospheric stability conditions
These measurements are particularly important during aircraft descent and landing phases, when accurate weather information can play a critical role in operational safety.
The facility also includes the Ground-based Fog Aerosol Spectrometer, which analyses fog droplets and aerosol interactions. Scientists said the instrument is especially relevant for Delhi's environment, where pollution particles often interact with fog and influence visibility conditions.
Meanwhile, the CL61 Lidar-based Ceilometer continuously monitors the vertical structure of fog layers, helping forecasters better understand fog formation and visibility changes around the airport.
The scientific foundation for SkyCast stems from the Winter Fog Experiment (WiFEX), a long-running research initiative launched jointly by IITM and IMD at IGI Airport in 2015.
Researchers involved in WiFEX studied:
• Fog formation processes
• Aerosol-cloud interactions
• Visibility reduction mechanisms
• Urban boundary-layer behaviour
The findings from the programme contributed directly to the development of the operational SkyCast framework now deployed at Delhi airport.
Officials confirmed that the next SkyCast installation will be established at Noida International Airport in Jewar, with additional deployments planned at other airports across the country.
Speaking at the inauguration, Dr M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, said the system would strengthen not only aviation weather services but also broader forecasting capabilities.
According to Ravichandran, the high-quality atmospheric data generated by SkyCast will help improve weather prediction models and support the expansion of observational networks being developed under Mission Mausam, including Doppler Weather Radars and other advanced monitoring systems.
Beyond aviation, data generated by the platform could support:
• Urban weather forecasting
• Air pollution management
• Disaster preparedness
• Transport advisories
• Artificial intelligence-enabled forecasting systems
The launch of SkyCast reflects India's growing investment in weather intelligence infrastructure as the country's aviation sector continues to expand rapidly.
With passenger traffic rising, airport capacity increasing and new aviation hubs under development, authorities view advanced weather monitoring as an essential component of future aviation safety and operational efficiency.
The rollout at Delhi airport marks the first stage of a broader national programme aimed at creating a more resilient, data-driven aviation ecosystem capable of managing increasingly complex weather challenges.
Join the conversation
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts!
Sign In to Comment