Automatic weather station
Also called: AWS · Topic: Atmosphere: Composition, Structure and Elements of Weather · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 2 "Understanding the Weather"
Meaning
An automatic weather station (AWS) is a weather station that runs without people. Its sensors record temperature, humidity, wind, rainfall and pressure, and it sends the data on its own. This allows weather to be watched day and night in remote, high or dangerous places where no observer can stay. AWS data also feed computer forecast models and early warning systems.
Example
In September 2023, NDMA-led teams set up AWS at the South Lhonak and Shako Cho glacial lakes in north Sikkim. The lakes lie above 5,000 m. The stations act as a flood early warning, because a glacial lake can burst and send floods into the valleys below.
Don't confuse with
- Radiosonde: a set of instruments carried up by a weather balloon to measure the upper air. An AWS stays fixed on the ground.