Andhra University gets ₹180-crore C-ART observatory; monsoon below normal, says Earth Sciences Secretary

Union Earth Sciences Secretary M. Ravichandran on Friday (May 1, 2026) inaugurated the Open-Field Observatory of the Coastal Atmospheric Research Testbed (C-ART) at Andhra University (AU), a facility set up by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, under the Centre’s Mission Mausam.

The total project cost is estimated at ₹180 crore, of which equipment worth ₹60 crore has already been installed; the remaining ₹120 crore is earmarked for additional instrumentation and infrastructure. According to the university, the testbed is equipped with a suite of advanced in-situ and remote-sensing instruments, including aerosol mass spectrometers, cloud condensation nuclei counters, ceilometers and greenhouse gas analysers. Additional systems such as wind profilers and Doppler weather radars are planned. The high-resolution data generated will be assimilated into national forecasting models.