18 automatic weather stations to be set up in Sylhet division

SYLHET, Nov 26: The Meteorology department has completed selecting sites for setting up automatic weather stations (AWS) on 18 upazilas in the division. Works on these would be started as soon as possible, an official informed on Sunday.
However, old ones are there at the Osmani International Airport and at Sylhet Met office premises.
The stations would help collecting various weather information as well as cloud and lightning detection, the official said.
Establishment of these are very important since there had been casualties of people in rural areas especially poor and marginal farmers in the country during the monsoon in last few years, the official informed.
The highest lightning deaths were reported from haor region in Sunamganj and Habiganj districts. Especially Sunamganj district is considered most vulnerable for the calamity.
In charge of the Sylhet regional met office, Senior Meteorologist Sayeed Ahmed Chowdhury told this correspondent Sunday that under a national project, 18 modern observation centres named AWS would be set up in the division. A team of senior officials from Dhaka completed site selection for these in the division.
Of these, three in Habiganj district would be at Nabiganj, Madhabpur and at Habiganj Sadar upazila while three in Moulvibazar include Barlekha, Kulaura and Sadar. The six in Sunamganj would be set at Chhatak, Jamalganj, Derai, Shulla, Tahirpur and at Sadar and six in Sylhet district would be established at Golapganj, Beanibazar, Zakiganj, Kanaighat, Companiganj and Jaintapur.
However, main server of these AWS would be set at the Sylhet met office at the city's Shahi Eidgah area. The department has also identified the highly lightning-prone upazilas, he added.
Besides, a new dopler radar station would be set at the Sylhet MAG Osmani Airport under the same project.

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