Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the first-ever “Himalayan High Altitude Atmospheric and Climate Research Centre” in the higher hill reaches of Nathatop, in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Key Highlights
- The state-of-the-art facility, situated at one of the highest altitudes in the region, is expected to serve as a crucial gateway for cutting-edge climate research in the north-western Himalayas.
- The Nathatop centre is a product of multi-tier collaboration—between the Government of India, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir , the Central University of Jammu and the Swiss National Science Foundation.
- The site was strategically chosen for its clean air and minimal pollution, providing a rare opportunity to study atmospheric processes in free tropospheric conditions — a key requirement for understanding cloud formation, weather patterns, and aerosol interactions.
- The Centre’s first set of measurements will be conducted under ICE-CRUNCH, bringing together Indian and Swiss scientists to study ice-nucleating particles and cloud condensation nuclei.
About ICE-CRUNCH
- Dr. Jitendra Singh also flagged off the Indo-Swiss Joint Research Project “ICE-CRUNCH (Ice nucleating particles and cloud condensation nuclei properties in the North-Western Himalayas)”.
- It is a collaborative study between Indian scientists and researchers from ETH Zürich, Switzerland, aimed at exploring the properties of ice nucleating particles and cloud condensation nuclei in the region.
(Source: PIB)
