Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd.) has inspected the Doppler Weather Radar Network project site in Puttalam, reviewing progress on a Japanese grant-funded scheme intended to sharpen Sri Lanka’s weather forecasting and early warning systems.
The Ministry of Defence said the visit took place on July 29. Ada Derana reported the statement the following morning.
Director General of the Department of Meteorology A.L.K. Wijemannage received the Defence Secretary at the site and briefed him on the scope and significance of the project before the inspection began. Project engineers then set out the state of construction work, the progress achieved since the Defence Secretary’s previous visit, and the implementation schedule ahead.
Installation of the radar system is scheduled to begin in January next year, according to the project timeline, with the entire project expected to be completed by the end of July 2027.
The Defence Secretary said he was satisfied with progress so far and stressed the importance of finishing within the planned timeframe, which the ministry said would improve disaster preparedness, raise forecasting accuracy and strengthen the country’s resilience against extreme weather.
Doppler radar measures the movement of rain and wind within a storm rather than simply detecting precipitation, allowing forecasters to track the development and direction of severe weather in near real time. Sri Lanka’s existing observation network relies heavily on ground stations and satellite data, which give less warning of fast-developing local systems.
The upgrade is being pursued against a background of increasingly disruptive weather. Authorities have warned of a high probability of El Niño conditions later in the year and of the risk of drought and heavy rainfall arriving in close succession, while flooding and landslides have repeatedly forced evacuations during recent monsoon seasons.
