Berhampur, Oct. 14: Senior scientist of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) V.K. Anandan said the doppler weather radar was ready to be installed at Gopalpur this month.

A three-member Isro team, led by Anandan, and a six-member team of Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL), led by Narasingha Prasad, have started checking the radar's ancillary facilities. The process will continue till Sunday.

Two members of the Indian Meteorological Department Krushna Prasad and Sarat Pradhan would join Isro and the BHEL teams tomorrow before finalising the date of commissioning the radar, said Anandan. Isro will hand over the technical certificate to BHEL as a prerequisite to formally install the radar.

The cost of the radar is Rs 22 crore, and it weights about 16 tonnes. It has been designed by Isro Bangalore and manufactured by BHEL. This radar would be the second of its kind in the state after Paradip.

"The radar will help the Met department to predict about cyclones, tornadoes, hailstorms, lightning and cloudbursts accurately. Its antenna will oscillate throughout 24 hours at various elevations in frequent intervals within 16-metre diameter," he said.

"It is also equipped to detect coastal weather conditions within a distance of 450 to 500km from the seashore. It can identify the clouds up to a range of 500km. This apart, it can predict about thunderstorms and lightning," he said.

Isro has installed similar radars in Sriharikota, Cherapunjee, Bhuj and Mumbai.

The decision to install a radar at Gopalpur was taken following a recommendation of a high-level team of the National Institute of Ocean Technology. The institute had conducted a survey after the super cyclone had hit Puri and Gopalpur in 1999. The construction of the radar centre started in 2003. Till now, Odisha has been depending on Vishakhapatnam and Calcutta for doppler radar data.

A doppler radar beams a microwave signal towards a desired target and reads the reflection. It analyses how the object that reflected it altered the original signal. Variations in the frequency of the signal provide direct and highly accurate measurements of a target's velocity relative to the radar source and the direction of the microwave beam. Doppler radars are used in defence, air traffic control, sounding satellites and radiology, Anandan said.

Assistant meteorologist and in charge of Gopalpur Met office Laxmi Dhar Mahapatra said various weather forecasting gadgets installed at the Gopalpur Met office would be shifted to the new radar building. The state government had provided three acre adjoining the Pakanati High School at Gopalpur for the establishment.