Description

Copyright infringement not intended

PC: NBC News

Context:

Following the Trump administration's budget cuts, a Silicon Valley business will soon begin replacing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) weather balloons with AI-powered replacements that are expected to be significantly less expensive.

What is a weather balloon?

Weather balloons, sometimes called sounding balloons, are a special kind of high-altitude balloon that carry instruments into the stratosphere. These instruments, in the form of a tiny, disposable device called a radiosonde, measure things like atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind speed and send that data back to Earth.

Invention:

In the latter part of the nineteenth century, French meteorologist Léon Teisserenc de Bort was an early adopter of weather balloons.
His numerous balloon launches revealed both the tropopause and stratosphere.

Significance and Uses of Weather Balloons

Weather balloons are still very important for meteorological studies, even though satellites have become more common.
Their precise measurements of low-level air temperature and humidity are crucial for making sense of meteorological events.
In order to provide reliable weather predictions, radiosonde data is also useful for calibrating measurements taken by satellites.

Purpose	Used to observe atmospheric conditions for diagnosing current weather and forecasting.
Global Launch Sites	900–1,300 locations worldwide.
Routine Launch Times	Twice or four times daily, typically at 0000 UTC and 1200 UTC.
Supplementary Launches	Occasionally done for additional data when weather conditions are rapidly changing.
Operating Agencies	Military and civilian meteorological agencies (e.g., National Weather Service, USA).
Specialized Uses	- Aviation interests - Pollution monitoring - Photography/Videography - Research - Scattering human ashes
Examples of Specialized Balloons	Pilot balloons (Pibal), dropsondes from aircraft, mobile launchers from vehicles or ships.

Source: Indian Express

Practice Question

Q. With reference to weather balloons, consider the following statements:

Weather balloons are launched only by military agencies for classified weather surveillance.
They are typically released twice daily around the globe at fixed Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Weather balloons help in collecting data like temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure for weather forecasting.
The data collected by weather balloons is restricted for use within national borders and not shared internationally.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 1 and 4 only
B. 2 and 3 only
C. 1, 2 and 3 only
D. 2, 3 and 4 only

Answer:

B. 2 and 3 only

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: Weather balloons are launched by both military and civilian meteorological agencies, not just for classified use.
Statement 2 is correct: They are launched two or four times daily, typically at 0000 UTC and 1200 UTC.
Statement 3 is correct: They collect crucial data such as temperature, humidity, and pressure for weather forecasting.
Statement 4 is incorrect: The data is shared internationally under agreements between meteorological organizations.