Tamil Nadu is all set to develop an independent weather forecasting system specific to the state to bridge the gap in the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) forecasting.  State Finance Minister, PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan in the state budget on Friday allocated an amount of R10 crore for developing the independent weather forecasting system.

According to the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TNSDMA), as of Friday out of the four Doppler weather radars in Chennai region, only one at Karaikkal is working without any glitches. The S-band radar at Chennai port is defunct for want of important spare parts that need to be imported. Other than this, the radar at the National Ocean Technology (NIOT) is not fully calibrated. The Sriharikota radar has not been updated also, sources said.