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WIFEX

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August 04, 2025

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Science and technology

Why in News?

Recently, WiFEX has completed a remarkable ten successful years milestone stepping into next phase WiFEX-II which led to active response even during dense fog.

  • WiFEX - Winter Fog Experiment, is one of the world’s few long-term open-field experiments.
  • Aim - Dedicated research into North India’s dense winter fog and its impact on daily life and aviation safety.
  • Launched in - Winter of 2015 at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), New Delhi.
  • Led by - Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).
  • Supported by - India Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).
  • Nodal ministry - Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
  • Instruments used - Micrometeorology towers, ceilometers, and high-frequency sensors
  • Data collected on - Temperature layers, humidity, wind, turbulence, soil heat, and aerosols.
  • Features
    • Region’s most advanced High-resolution (3 km) probabilistic fog prediction model.
    • It will predict when fog will begin, how dense it will be, how long it will last, and when it will clear.
    • Achieving more than 85% precision for very dense fog (visibility below 200 meters).
  • Advantages
    • Aviation safety & fog solution – It will ensure less costly diversions, fewer delays, safer runways, and more informed travel during the challenging winter fog season.
  • WIFEX II’s next phase
    • Localized extension, runway-specific fog predictions to more airports in north India.
    • Enhancing performance through Installation of dedicated sensors at additional sites
    • Airport operators will gain real-time data to help them activate response plans and ensure operations remain safe and efficient even during winter’s thickest fog.

Reference

PIB| WIFEX - A Remarkable 10-Year Milestone

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