The agriculture department of West Bengal government is installing around 180 meteorological observatories in the agricultural farms as well as research stations across the state to examine the weather conditions in advance and issue guidelines to the cultivators as to what measures should be taken according to climate conditions.
It is important to mention that weather system is one of the most important factors that determine the production of crops. Growers often incur huge losses due to damage caused by scarcity of rainfall and excessive rainfall, hailstorms therefore it will be of great help if the department provides them prior information.
Every meteorological observatory has a rain gauge station. Apart from rain, they will record temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, & direction of wind.
The weather data accumulated from these observatories will not only serve the research & extension wings of the Agri Department but will also fulfill the needs of other departments, local administration, research organisations and universities.
The response given by these observatories will also be used for crop insurance that the state government pays in full for the majority farmers.
