Mounting levels of greenhouses gases such as carbon dioxide are trapping heat, thereby causing the planet to become steadily warmer. Fine particles that get wafted into the atmosphere, known as aerosols, also play a part. Aerosols can cut the amount of sunlight reaching the ground, thus cooling the Earth’s surface. But particles like soot can also absorb light and heat up the atmosphere.

“India cannot depend on others to tell us what is happening in our own country,” observed Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh.

By establishing its own capabilities to monitor emissions, India would send a powerful signal to the international community of its seriousness in dealing with climate change, he said in an email to this correspondent. It would also provide a valuable opportunity for Indian scientists to get involved in areas of high national priority.

Mr. Ramesh said he had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about creating such capability.

India is going to be treated as one of the world’s major polluters, pointed out K. Kasturirangan, former head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and now Panning Commission member. In order to be a partner in global discussions on climate change, the country must have the ability to monitor its emissions and provide authentic information.

The nano-satellite is being developed in collaboration with the Space Flight Laboratory at the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies in Canada, according to ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair.

In addition, the space agency has begun designing a dedicated satellite to monitor greenhouse gases. This will be an ambitious effort requiring a lot of technology development.

The nano-satellite would carry an instrument to primarily look at aerosols, according to A.S. Kiran Kumar of the ISRO’s Space Application Centre in Ahmedabad. The instrument would capture light in wavelengths suitable for aerosol measurement.

Carbon dioxide monitoring

Efforts were also being made to incorporate wavelengths suitable for carbon dioxide monitoring in the instrument. There were also plans to put an instrument for making air-glow measurements, which would be an indication of atmospheric constituents, on another small satellite, he said.

In his letter to Dr. Singh, Mr. Ramesh recommended that India enter into an agreement with Japan and Europe for accessing and independently analysing data from their GOSAT and ENVISAT satellites.

He indicated that the ISRO would also establish an independent institution to analyse the data generated by satellites. It would be set up in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and IIT-Delhi. The Ministry of Environment and Forests would provide the start-up funding.

Besides, the automated weather stations developed by the ISRO could be deployed in large numbers across the country, especially in the Himalayan States, to monitor the health of glaciers. The ISRO would also establish carbon monitoring towers in different climatic zones, according to Mr. Ramesh.