Atmospheric Research Testbed in Central India (ART-CI)

March 14, 2024

The first phase of the Atmospheric Research Testbed in Central India (ART-CI) was inaugurated in Sehore district, located about 50km northwest of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
The testbed, works of which began in early 2018, is equipped with high-end instruments to record several vital parameters that will be fed into improving the weather models besides facilitating advanced studies on the Indian monsoons.
Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) is spearheading the research activities at this first-of-its-kind testbed facility built at a cost of Rs 125 crore.
Nearly 25 high-end instruments like the aethalometer for aerosol studies, cloud condensation nuclei counter, laser ceilometer to measure cloud sizes, micro rain radar to calculate raindrop size and its distribution have been installed.
A Ka-band cloud radar and a C-band doppler weather radar will also help track the movement of rain-bearing systems over this zone.