Agriculture Ministry Weather Sensor Network Faces Severe Implementation Delays

An Agriculture Ministry initiative to install automatic rain gauges and weather stations is over a year behind schedule, with more than 96% of planned sensors uninstalled.

Implementing private partners cited land shortages and IMD guidelines requiring ground-level sensor placement instead of rooftop installations as primary bottlenecks.

IMD officials defended the ground-placement rule, stating that elevation changes adversely affect meteorological data accuracy under World Meteorological Organisation guidelines.