India’s first avalanche monitoring radar installed in North Sikkim

Indian Army and Defence Geoinformatics and Research Establishment (DGRE) have jointly installed the Avalanche Monitoring Radar in North Sikkim. 

The radar was inaugurated by Lieutenant General Tarn Kumar Aich, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, General Officer Commanding TriShakti Corps on September 20, 2022, at one of the Forward Posts of the Indian Army deployed at an altitude of 15,000 feet in North Sikkim. 

This radar, the first of its kind in India, has the capability to detect avalanches within three seconds of their trigger and will assist in saving the valuable life of troops and civilians as well as vehicles in Super High Altitude Areas.

The avalanche radar was made operational by DGRE of DRDO 7, an organisation that is involved in forecasting and mitigation of avalanche hazards faced by the Indian Army in the Himalayan Region.

This radar uses a series of short microwave pulses that are scattered at the target and can detect an avalanche in under 3 seconds. The radar can permanently scan the targeted slope for avalanche release and track the path of the avalanche and its size in case it is triggered. 

The radar can see through snow, and fog as well as at the night, making it an all-weather solution and covering an area of 2 sq/km, obviating the requirement to place additional instruments in dangerous avalanche-prone areas. 

The radar is also linked to an alarm system, enabling automatic control and warning measures in case an avalanche is triggered. Images and videos of the event are automatically recorded for future analysis by the experts. Besides being used for the detection of avalanches, this radar can also be employed to detect landslides.