New Delhi: With India's dam infrastructure facing pressure due to extreme weather events triggered by climatic changes, NHPC Ltd has sharpened focus on AI for more accurate, real-time flood forecasting and hydro project monitoring, said people aware of the development.
The company has developed an AI-based early warning platform, 'eAabhas', which uses internet of things (IoT) sensors and machine learning models to forecast flood discharge at dams and barrage sites with advance lead time. NHPC has also set up a master control room for continuous monitoring through the platform.
The deployment is expected to enhance accuracy of existing early warning systems for timely alerts to minimise potential damage to dams and downstream population. AI-based systems can help monitor dams in real time, optimise water flows, and improve disaster prediction capabilities. "Though existing systems do the work for forecasting and managing water flows, the new systems will help in events such as flash floods where water overtops the dam," said an industry executive.
Among recent weather events impacting dam infrastructure, a key highlight was the Sikkim flash flood in October 2023, triggered by a cloudburst, impacting the Teesta III dam. Due to flash floods in the Teesta Basin in October 2023, water had flown over the top of the dam of the 510 MW Teesta V power station, forcing its shutdown. With the use of AI and machine learning techniques, real-time flood forecasting at dam and barrage sites with lead time will be possible, the executive said.
Condition-based automatic alert generation on forecasted floods along with integration with information and communication technology will inject much-needed solutions as India looks to strengthen its dam infrastructure. This will entail integration of external data from the India Meteorological Department, National Disaster Management Authority, and Central Water Commission for support in decision making.
The company has developed an AI-based early warning platform, 'eAabhas', which uses internet of things (IoT) sensors and machine learning models to forecast flood discharge at dams and barrage sites with advance lead time. NHPC has also set up a master control room for continuous monitoring through the platform.
The deployment is expected to enhance accuracy of existing early warning systems for timely alerts to minimise potential damage to dams and downstream population. AI-based systems can help monitor dams in real time, optimise water flows, and improve disaster prediction capabilities. "Though existing systems do the work for forecasting and managing water flows, the new systems will help in events such as flash floods where water overtops the dam," said an industry executive.
Among recent weather events impacting dam infrastructure, a key highlight was the Sikkim flash flood in October 2023, triggered by a cloudburst, impacting the Teesta III dam. Due to flash floods in the Teesta Basin in October 2023, water had flown over the top of the dam of the 510 MW Teesta V power station, forcing its shutdown. With the use of AI and machine learning techniques, real-time flood forecasting at dam and barrage sites with lead time will be possible, the executive said.
Condition-based automatic alert generation on forecasted floods along with integration with information and communication technology will inject much-needed solutions as India looks to strengthen its dam infrastructure. This will entail integration of external data from the India Meteorological Department, National Disaster Management Authority, and Central Water Commission for support in decision making.