Weather Balloons | 24 May 2025

Source: IE

The US has reduced its weather balloon launches following budget cuts by the administration, causing concerns globally among meteorologists about the impact on weather forecasting accuracy.

Weather Balloons:  

• About: Léon Teisserenc de Bort, a French meteorologist, pioneered weather balloon use in 1896 and discovered the tropopause and stratosphere. 
  • Weather balloons are large latex balloons filled with helium or hydrogen, used by meteorologists to study the upper atmosphere (above 5,000 feet).  
  • Modern weather balloons can rise up to 1,15,000 feet (35 km) in about 2 hours. 
• Key Components: They carry a radiosonde, a small battery-powered radio-transmitter suspended about 66 feet below, which collects and transmits real-time data on temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind to ground stations via radio signals. 
  • High-tech radiosondes are lighter, more energy-efficient, and use Global Positioning System (GPS) for accurate tracking and wind measurement, though they are still launched using weather balloons. 
• Significance: Helps fill the gap between surface observations and satellite data, offering detailed vertical profiles of the atmosphere essential for accurate weather prediction. 
• India’s Scenario: The National Balloon Facility (NBF), Hyderabad, was established in the 1960s as a collaborative initiative between the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the ISRO to enable high-altitude scientific balloon launches for atmospheric and space research. 
  • The India Meteorological Department (IMD) and over 900 global weather stations launch balloons twice daily to maintain forecasting accuracy.