Recently, the CoS-it-FloWS, a new system that collects hyper-local data for flood forecasts launched in the flood-prone Periyar and Chalakudi river basins was launched in Kerala.
About CoS-it-FloWS
- CoS-it-FloWS (Community-Sourced Impact-based Flood Forecast and Early Warning System) is a project run by Equinoct, a Kochi-based community-sourced modelling solution provider.
- Recognized by UNICEF’s Climate Tech Cohort, it uses 100 rain gauges installed across Ernakulam, Idukki, and Thrissur.
- Data on rainfall, river, tidal and groundwater levels that are collected primarily by students, women, and youth at the household level is then analysed and visualised through Insight Gather, a web portal to host the impact-based forecasts in the pilot basins.
- The idea is to plug gaps in government data and to scale up the project with greater community participation by collecting hyper-local data for fighting natural disasters.
About hyperlocal weather forecasting:
- Definition: Hyperlocal weather forecasting is a specialized form of meteorology that pinpoints weather conditions to extremely localized areas.
- Current forecasting level: Currently the Indian Meteorology Department (IMD) issues weather forecasting for district level.
- The forecast and warnings issued from the National Weather Forecasting Centre (NWFC) are on the subdivisional scale for the country as a whole whereas the same from State WFC (SWFC) are in the district scale for the state concerned.
- Need for Hyperlocal forecasting: In tropical countries like India, weather variability is inherently higher. Hence hyperlocalised weather forecasting is needed for better utility.