An advanced atmospheric observation and research facility, the St. Basil Hills Atmospheric Research Observatory, is set to come up at Catholicate College, Pathanamthitta, as part of a scientific collaboration with the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS), Thiruvananthapuram.
The observatory is being established under the Union government’s Mission Mausam programme, with atmospheric observation systems to be installed on the college campus. NCESS, under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, will provide financial support of around ₹1.60 crore for the project, according to an official statement.
The observatory is expected to strengthen atmospheric observation and research on weather and climate and facilitate scientific assessment of the local impacts of climate change. It will enable continuous monitoring of atmospheric parameters, including temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, wind speed and wind direction.
It will be equipped with an automatic weather station, micro rain radar, disdrometer, ceilometer, microwave radiometer, flux tower and radiation sensors. The college management has provided space on the campus for the observatory.
Research at the facility will focus on atmospheric processes, climate variability and extreme rainfall events. Resmi E.A., head of the Atmospheric Science Group at NCESS, and George Thomas, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Catholicate College, will lead the research activities.
Under a proposed memorandum of understanding between the college and NCESS, faculty members and researchers from the two institutions will jointly undertake data collection and research. The observatory is also expected to support academic programmes, research, student training and the development of weather and climate services relevant to the local community.
The initiative comes alongside arrangements being made by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, on the college campus for scientific studies of lightning activity, against the backdrop of the increasing incidence of lightning in Pathanamthitta district.
(eom/ HIRAN)
Published – September 24, 2026 07:00 pm IST
