Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has got the country’s first state-of-the-art ‘SkyCast’ system to provide pilots with real-time weather intelligence and reduce delays, diversions and cancellations caused by fog and turbulence.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh inaugurated the system. With this, India became the 19th country to install the integrated atmospheric remote sensing system for aviation weather monitoring.
Singh said the second such facility would come up at Jewar, followed by expansion to other airports.
He described SkyCast as a major milestone in India’s aviation sector as it combines multiple atmospheric observation technologies for fog monitoring, turbulence detection and high-impact weather forecasting.
The system integrates advanced atmospheric remote sensing technologies, including Radar Wind Profiler, SODAR, Microwave Radiometer, Ground-based Fog Aerosol Spectrometer (GFAS) and CL61 Lidar-based Ceilometer, to provide comprehensive real-time atmospheric intelligence. Singh said the facility would strengthen runway monitoring and warning systems, making take-offs and landings safer.
He said the core of SkyCast is an advanced boundary-layer Radar Wind Profiler, which continuously measures wind speed, wind direction, turbulence, vertical velocity and boundary-layer dynamics up to nearly 3 km above the airport. These parameters are crucial during aircraft descent and landing operations, where precise atmospheric information improves safety. The facility also includes advanced fog monitoring instruments such as GFAS, which provides detailed information on fog droplets, aerosols and aerosol-fog interaction. Singh said this was particularly important for cities like Delhi, where pollution particles interact with fog and affect visibility.
The system also integrates the CL61 Lidar-based Ceilometer, which continuously monitors the vertical structure of fog. This helps assess fog formation, visibility reduction and atmospheric conditions affecting aviation operations.
Beyond aviation, SkyCast observations will support advanced forecasting models, AI-enabled decision support systems, urban weather forecasting, pollution management, transport advisories and disaster preparedness initiatives.
SkyCast combines real-time measurements of fog, aerosols, turbulence, moisture, visibility and atmospheric conditions into a single aviation weather intelligence framework. The system will support pilots, airlines, airport operators and air traffic management agencies with accurate now casting and early warning services.
The scientific foundation of SkyCast comes from the Winter Fog Experiment (WiFEX), jointly launched by IITM and IMD under the Ministry of Earth Sciences at IGI Airport in 2015. WiFEX helped researchers better understand fog formation, aerosol-cloud interaction, visibility reduction and urban boundary-layer processes, contributing to the development of the operational system.
Singh said India was moving towards an era of “fog-free flights” through scientific innovation and advanced weather technologies.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of taking aviation from “Hawai Chappal to Hawai Jahaz”, the Minister said India was also moving towards democratisation of weather services for aviation and citizens.
