Weather balloon

Weather balloon
What?
 A weather balloon (or sounding balloon) is a high-altitude balloon made of flexible latex or neoprene, filled with helium or hydrogen.
 It carries a small, battery-powered instrument package called a radiosonde to collect and transmit real-time data on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind speed.

Why?
Weather balloons provide crucial "upper air" data that cannot be captured by ground radar or satellites. 
Meteorologists rely on these vertical atmospheric profiles to predict severe storms, winter precipitation (e.g., distinguishing between snow and freezing rain), and wind shear.

How?
Ascent: Launched from the ground, the balloon rises at about 5 meters per second, ascending into the stratosphere up to altitudes of 30,000 to 40,000 meters (100,000 to 130,000 feet).
Expansion and Burst: As it rises and atmospheric pressure drops, the gas expands until the balloon stretches to roughly four times its original size and eventually bursts.
Descent: A small parachute attached to the rigging slows the descent of the radiosonde so it falls safely to the ground.

In india
A prominent facility is the National Balloon Facility (NBF) in Hyderabad, managed collaboratively by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and ISRO for atmospheric and space research, frequently launch these balloons. 

Compiled by 
Ms Naresh kuwar 





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