The Doppler Weather Radar Station (DWRS) in Kochi has been upgraded to deliver weather updates every 15 minutes. Till now, the DWRS provided updates in 30 minutes. The faster update is expected to benefit not just weather forecast but also the aviation sector.

The Dual Polar S-band DWRS is a cyclone detection and tracking weather radar operating in the S-Band microwave frequency (2.832 GHz). Apart from cyclonic system detection, it is actively used in thunderstorm detection and tracking, observing and measuring wind flows and measuring precipitation activities in Kochi and its adjoining areas with a maximum horizontal range of 500 km, according to the DWR Kochi.

The station was completely shut down in December, and the upgrade was completed in three months. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Science, Technology and Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that the DWR in Kochi has been temporarily non-operational for the last three months due to an upgrade.

The minister added that there was no impact on operational weather services due to this, as Kerala generally experiences fair weather during the period. The minister provided this information in response to a question by John Brittas MP, who asked if any radar systems are temporarily rendered non-operational due to technical malfunctions or maintenance. In addition to the DWRS in Kochi, the other one is in Thiruvananthapuram (C-Band DWR) with a range of 250 km.

IMD sources, however, said that the upgradation and maintenance were completed within three months, followed by a testing process, and the DWRS in Kochi is fully functional now. A row had erupted over the weather forecast and the landslide prediction system in Kerala following the Wayanad landslide in 2024. Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) submitted a statement in the High Court, which said that the radar in Kochi was not able to provide digital data for direct infusion into the decision support system of KSDMA.

"This was discussed with IMD, and the reason for this inability is owing to the technology and software limitations of this old radar. This limits the ability of hyper-local near-real-time monitoring of clouds that have the potential to cause extremely heavy rainfall," according to the statement. KSDMA also cited that the data streams of the Thiruvananthapuram radar are not, however, available digitally to KSDMA. "Without such modern services being seamlessly facilitated, disaster managers will not be able to have continuous and up-to-date situational awareness," KSDMA cited in the statement.