High Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory
Geography and You|July-August 2016

Observations made by the High Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory (HACPL) at Mahabaleshwar shall assist in the understanding of the southwest monsoon and its anomalies, and reduce risks to life and property from extreme weather events.

High Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory

The High Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory (HACPL) was conceived in order to continuously monitor clouds at a single location, where the cloud base touches the ground. The idea of the HACPL was formulated to have long term cloud physics, dynamics, radiation and chemistry observations at one place as aircraft observations are in situ and cannot generate data on diurnal and seasonal cycles.

Regular observations at the HACPL can provide continuous data for the study of cloud microphysics, interaction between clouds; and, aerosols and the process of precipitation and related dynamics.

The most important source of systematic errors in all weather and climate prediction models is related to the inaccuracy in formulation (or parameterisation) of clouds. The parameterisation of convection in weather and climate models depends on our understanding of how small scale clouds interact with the large scale environment and how aerosols interact with clouds. Therefore, during the 11th Plan Period, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) focused on cloud and aerosol interaction studies as a major research area.

A national experiment called Cloud Aerosol Interaction And Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX) was launched to study cloud-aerosol interactions. Instrumented aircraft were used but, being an expensive proposition, the operations could not be continued for long. Mahabaleshwar located at a height of 1353 m in Western Ghats provides an ideal location for continuous monitoring and study of monsoon clouds and heavy rainfall events.

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