Isro has technologies to help small island states during natural calamities: Jitendra Singh
20 Dec 2021
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Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has developed the requisite technologies and expertise to provide information on advance warning of cyclones, monitoring of coast lines and coral reefs using space based inputs to support small island states to help them protect from inundation due to rising temperatures.
Stating this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, minister of state for science and technology and earth sciences and MoS for PMO, personnel, public grievances, pensions, atomic energy and space, Jitendra Singh, said Isro is gearing up to provide such information to some of the small island developing states (SIDS) in the Indian Ocean Region.
He said, India, UK, Australia, Fiji, Jamaica and Mauritius jointly launched an initiative, Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) to provide technical support on disaster resilience of infrastructure systems to SIDS, during the 26th Conference of Parties held in Glasgow, UK by United Nations.
The minister said, IRIS, will also support SIDS by facilitating access to existing financial mechanisms for resilient infrastructure development. IRIS will extend its support on demand basis to 58 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) across geographic regions.
Isro carries out prediction of track, intensity, landfall time and location of all cyclones originated in the Indian Ocean using space based inputs. While India Meteorological Department (IMD) is the mandated agency to provide the cyclone forecast advisories, Isro supports IMD in improving the prediction methodologies and publish R&D outputs for the help of all.
Isro has carried out vulnerability assessment of the selected states along the Indian coastal region and has identified coastal stretch that are susceptible due to sea level rise. Isro provides near real time prediction of storm surge and surge induced inundation for Indian coast during cyclone using satellite observations and numerical model. Maps of coral reefs of Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have been published and are updated regularly. A region-specific Coral Bleaching Monitoring System based on sea surface temperature data is hosted on Isro’s VEDAS geoportal.
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