Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) would provide short-range accurate weather prediction in a nearly 500 km radius. DWR has the unique capability to continuously track and predict fast- evolving weather systems such as thunderstorms, cyclones and cloudbursts. It will also be much better and more advanced than the conventional radar, which are being presently used by the IMD. The radar will pick up more accurate information about the turbulence and wind speed of the atmosphere before a cyclone or heavy shower. It will be able to predict the quantity of rainfall, and also the rainfall average, precipitation intensity, early detection of thunderstorms that may bring large hail, heavy rain, strong wind and tornados.

15 locations across the country have been selected to install this new system. The sites chosen for installations of DWR are Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Patna, Goa, Patiala, Mohanbari and Dibrugarh, Lucknow, Paradip, Karaikal, Kochi, Bhopal, Nagpur and Agartala.

Doppler Weather Radar has many advantages over conventional radar as given below:

• Conventional radar provides information on reflectivity only whereas a Doppler Weather Radars provides information on velocity and spectral width in addition to reflectivity.

• Various Meteorological, Hydrological and Aviation products derived from Doppler Weather Radar data using a variety of software algorithms are very useful for forecasters in estimating the storm's centre, its intensity, fixing its position and predicting its future path and safe navigation of aircrafts and ships.

• Doppler Weather Radars also play a vital role for providing the current weather information on severe weather events.

• Digital data of reflectivity and velocity by DWR is useful in Numerical Weather Prediction & Nowcasting of severe weather.