Question

1. Collect weather information over media such as newspaper, TV and radio for understanding the weather systems.
2. Read the section on weather in any newspaper, preferably, one having a map showing a satellite picture. Mark the area of cloudiness. Attempt to infer the atmospheric circulation from the distribution of clouds. Compare the forecast given in the newspaper with the TV coverage, if you have access to TV. Estimate, how many days in a week was the forecast were accurate.

Answer 1

For one week, collect weather information from your chosen sources (e.g., The Times of India for newspaper, NDTV or Doordarshan for TV, and All India Radio for radio).

Day	Source(s) Used	Key Weather Information Noticed (e.g., temperature, rainfall, cloud cover)	Weather System Understood (e.g., approaching low-pressure system, clear skies due to high pressure, monsoon conditions)
Day 1	Newspaper & TV	Max: \[32^\circ\text{C}\], Min: \[24^\circ\text{C}\], Heavy rain, Overcast skies	Likely arrival of a depression or cyclonic circulation from the Bay of Bengal.
Day 2	Newspaper & Radio	Max: \[33^\circ\text{C}\], Min: \[25^\circ\text{C}\], Moderate rain, Cloudy	Continued influence of the weather system, weakening slightly.
Day 3	TV & Radio	Max: \[34^\circ\text{C}\], Min: \[24^\circ\text{C}\], Light drizzle, Partly cloudy	The system is moving away; atmosphere is stabilizing.
Day 4	Newspaper	Max: \[36^\circ\text{C}\], Min: \[23^\circ\text{C}\], Dry, Clear skies	System has passed; local heating is dominant.
Day 5	Newspaper & TV	Max: \[35^\circ\text{C}\], Min: \[24^\circ\text{C}\], Sunny, Scattered clouds	Normal weather for the season; typical convection.
Day 6	TV & Radio	Max: \[33^\circ\text{C}\], Min: v25^\circ\text{C}\], Thunderstorms in evening	Indicates local humidity and evening instability (common pre-monsoon or late-monsoon).
Day 7	Newspaper	Max: \[34^\circ\text{C}\], Min: \[24^\circ\text{C}\], Humid, Partly cloudy	Stable, slightly humid conditions.

This section requires you to analyze a weather map and compare forecasts.

A. Satellite Picture Analysis:

 

• Task: Find a weather map in your newspaper (like the one often shown by the India Meteorological Department - IMD) that includes a satellite image.

• Your Observation: Look for large white swirling or patchy areas, which indicate thick clouds.

• Inference:

  • If there is a large, dense, circular mass of clouds, it might indicate a cyclonic storm.

  • If there are long, thick bands of clouds, it could show an active monsoon trough or a western disturbance.

  • Example Inference: "The satellite picture shows a dense patch of clouds over the coastal districts, indicating heavy moisture influx and potential heavy rainfall associated with the ongoing monsoon."

B. Forecast Comparison:

Keep track of the forecasts given by your sources the previous day versus what actually happened.

Day	Yesterday's Newspaper Forecast for Today	Yesterday's TV Forecast for Today	Today's Actual Weather (What happened)
Day 1	Heavy rain	Heavy rain, thunderstorm	Accurate: Heavy rain occurred.
Day 2	Moderate rain	Cloudy with slight drizzle	Mostly Accurate: Moderate rain occurred, slightly more than the TV forecast suggested.
Day 3	Cloudy, clearing later	Clear skies	Inaccurate: Remained cloudy with light drizzle all day.
Day 4	Sunny and hot	Sunny and hot	Accurate: Day was sunny and hot.
Day 5	Partly cloudy	Sunny with few clouds	Accurate: It was partly cloudy with some sunshine.
Day 6	Clear, humid	Clear, isolated evening showers	Accurate: Evening thunderstorms matched the TV forecast.
Day 7	Humid, stable	Humid, stable	Accurate: Conditions were as forecast.

C. Conclusion and Accuracy Estimation:

• Task: Based on your table above, count how many daily forecasts (from either source) matched the actual weather.

• Example Calculation: "Out of 14 individual forecasts checked (7 days x 2 sources), 12 forecasts were found to be accurate. Therefore, the forecasts were accurate approximately 85% of the time during this observation week."