Britains Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Edward Davey at a college in Hyderabad on Wednesday. (PTI)
Scientists from India and UK will colloborate to improve forecast of South Asian monsoon, especially by using atmospheric research aircraft and ocean gliders to gather fresh data in the region, UK's Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Edward Davey said on Wednesday.
The drivers of variability in the South Asian Monsoon research programme will receive combined funding of around 8 million pound from the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences and the UK Met Office.
The programme will also examine the monsoon's physical processes through a large-scale observational campaign. It will use the UK's BAe-146 atmospheric research aircraft and ocean gliders, and Indian research ships to gather fresh data on the region in more detail than ever before.
The initiative will improve understanding of the physical processes of the South Asian monsoon and their improved representation in weather and climate models. The research will begin in 2015 and is expected to last for between three and five years. Each project will be led by one British and one Indian researcher.
The British team is headed by Hugh Coe (University of Manchester), Andy Turner (University of Reading) and Adrian Matthews (University of East Anglia). They will be joined by Indian counterparts S Suresh Babu (Indian Space Research Organisation), G S Bhat and P N Vinayachandran (both from Indian Institute of Science)
UK and India has already seen over 150 million pound invested in research between the two nations.
Speaking at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai as part of a three-day visit to India, Davey said, "Our countries share a strong and growing relationship at the forefront of science and technology, one that aims to improve lives of people.
"The monsoon is a hugely important part of people's livelihood here in India. It is also a very important part of the global climate system. This major new UK-India research initiative on the monsoon is a great example of how both the countries can work together to tackle global challenges."