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Odisha to upgrade weather monitoring

hellohimachalse@gmail.com 08 Aug 2026 1 hour ago

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to install 360-degree surveillance cameras along the coastline to augment its weather monitoring systems, Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said on Thursday.

Pujari said the State recently witnessed simultaneous flooding in several rivers, including the Mahanadi, Salandi, Brahmani, Baitarani, Budhabalanga, Devi and Jalaka. “Such simultaneous flooding in multiple river systems reflects the changing weather pattern and climate change,” he said. The minister said the State would modernise all 122 Early Warning System towers installed along Odisha’s 573-km coastline by equipping them with 360-degree surveillance cameras. “The towers will also be upgraded with satellite-based communication systems,” he added.

Pujari said the government is strengthening communication infrastructure across all 314 blocks by integrating high-speed communication technologies with the central control room to improve disaster response. “Senior officials of the department have already visited Goa and Kerala to study their advanced early warning systems and disaster management practices,” he said. “The Doppler Weather Radar at Sambalpur has become operational, while new radars at Baleshwar and Bhubaneswar are expected to be commissioned shortly. Repair and upgradation of the existing radars at Gopalpur and Paradip are underway, and another Doppler Weather Radar will soon be installed at Puri,” he added.

Pujari said that once all these Doppler Weather Radars become fully operational, weather forecasting in Odisha will become significantly more accurate and precise. He said the government has also decided to strengthen reservoir management, water conservation, river water allocation and drainage management.

“Water regulation across river systems will also be improved through computerised monitoring and closer coordination with neighbouring States such as Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand,” he said.

The minister said the government has sanctioned Rs 35 crore to the Forest department for plantation of palm trees in agricultural fields as part of its strategy to reduce deaths caused by lightning strikes. He said discussions were held on adopting advanced technologies to tackle urban waterlogging during heavy rainfall. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), in collaboration with IIT Roorkee, has already initiated work in this regard. 

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