IIT Madras established the facility with help of College of Engineering Munnar and Department of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Kerala, with support from Sharp Business System (India) Pvt. Ltd.

IIT Madras established the facility to gain better understanding of atmospheric and climate related aspects of the region with special emphasis on aerosol measurements.

The function to inaugurate the high altitude laboratory saw the presence of representatives of IIT Madras and College of Engineering Munnar.

IIT Madras establishes great monitoring facility

MLA of Devikulam S. Rajendran, Scientific advisor to Chief Minister of Kerala M. Chandradathan and Professor K.P. Sudheer, executive vice president of Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment also graced the occasion.

Kerala Chief Minister said the strategic location of the proposed laboratory is very important to understand the important aspects of the monsoon, which has shown an increasing trend and frequency of extreme rainfall events due to climate change and global warming.

We have experienced devastating floods and landslides in our State over the last few years.

I request scientists to make the best use of this facility to study whether the increasing human activities have any role in such incidents, he said speaking during the inauguration of laboratory of IIT Madras.

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Though there are several high altitude atmospheric and climate science laboratories in the country, this facility by IIT Madras contains several unique features.

IIT-Madras intends to open this facility to the national and international community to perform the measurements of their interest.

The upcoming measurement of aerosol properties and meteorological parameters is a very important step forward, he said.

The laboratory established by IIT Madras and others is located at 1,600 meters above mean sea level and about 90 kms from the Arabian Sea coast of Kerala, this Natural Aerosol and Bioaerosol High Altitude Laboratory is situated in the College of Engineering Munnar premises.

It will host state-of-the-art high-end aerosol, gas-phase and atmospheric measurement instruments.

Professor Ravindra Gettu, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras said IIT Madras is very happy to have successfully established this laboratory.

The strategic location of the laboratory and unique climate in this region will help attract more international collaboration, he said.

IIT Madras further plans to strengthen the use and the facilities at this laboratory by establishing collaboration with reputed national and international institutions and universities known for climate change and earth system science studies.

This provides a unique opportunity to study the impact of changing aerosol properties on cloud and rainfall forming processes, he said.

About IIT Madras
IIT Madras was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an ‘Institute of National Importance.’

The activities of the Institute in various fields of Science and Technology are carried out in 16 academic departments and several advanced interdisciplinary research academic centres.

The Institute offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes leading to B.Tech., M.Sc., M.B.A., M.Tech., M.S., and Ph.D., degrees in a variety of specialisations.

IITM is a residential institute with more than 580 faculty and 9,500 students.

Students from 18 countries are enrolled here.

IITM fosters an active entrepreneurial culture with strong curricular support and through the IIT Madras Incubation Cell.

IITM has been ranked No.1 in the ‘Overall’ category for the second consecutive year in India ranking 2020 released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Education, Government of India.

The Institute has also been ranked No.1 in the ‘Engineering Institutions’ category in the same Rankings for five consecutive years – 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

It was also adjudged as the ‘Top innovative Institution’ in the country in Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) in 2019 and 2020.

ARIIA Ranking was launched by the Innovation Cell of Ministry of Education.

Delhi CM Atishi on Thursday inaugurated a 131-room school in Sunder Nagri in northeast Delhi, where 7,000 students will study in two shifts, the officials said. “I am very happy to inaugurate this school. When we visited the schools in this area after our government took office in 2015, every classroom had 100-150 students with some children sitting on the floor.”.

Even the most efficient teachers could not deliver quality education in that kind of a situation, Delhi CM Atishi said at the event, according to a statement issued by the Aam Aadmi Party. The Sarvodaya School with 131 classrooms, seven laboratories, one library, two multi-purpose halls, and one conference room shall operate on two shifts and impart all three streams of arts, commerce, and science, said Atishi.

Around 7,000 students are to be accommodated at Sunder Nagri, Nand Nagri, Mandoli, and Harsh Vihar, as stated in the statement. The land for the school was achieved back from illegal land mafias with the support of the Delhi government, she said, adding that Manish Sisodia laid its foundation stone in January 2023, and now the five-storey school stands there.

Statement given by the Delhi CM at the inauguration ceremony of the new school

“This land was allotted by the Delhi Development Authority to the education department in 2003 to construct a school. But since the previous governments didn’t take any interest in the education of common children, the land slipped into the land mafia’s hands.”.

“But after the AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal came into power we fought for taking over the land and constructing the school,” Atishi said, in a statement. The Delhi CM also said that if the people of Delhi want good schools for a bright future for their children, then they must again choose a government that puts education at the top, it added. The Assembly elections in Delhi are scheduled for early next year.