The First Indian to Winter over the South Pole: Reflections

The First Indian to Winter over the South Pole: Reflections


Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra,
Professor of Meteorology,
Department of Agronomy and Agrometeorology,
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU),
Ludhiana – 141004, Punjab, India,
and also WMO/UN Expert &
NASA/USA Consultant.

Introduction:

This paper was presented in the Concluding Session of the National Seminar on “India in the Antarctic: Challenge and Opportunities in the 21st Century” at Chandigarh, from 3rd to 4th February 2003, which was jointly organised by the Department of Political Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh, and the National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa, of the Department of Ocean Development (DOD), Government of India. This Session was chaired by the author who was also presented a Memento at the end of his key note Antarctic lecture and for being the first Indian ever to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent during his participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973.
India became involved in scientific research in Antarctica as the result of an agreement with the Soviet Union (USSR) for joint meteorological exploration of the upper atmosphere from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), Trivandrum, India, and Soviet Antarctic station Molodezhnaya, Antarctica. Under this agreement an Indian scientist, Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra, the author, participated in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 and became the first Indian ever to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent.
Since the Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Soviet Hydrometeorological Service (HMS) signed the joint Indo-Soviet Agreement in 1970, there have been regular weekly soundings with M-100 meteorological rockets from the main Soviet station Molodezhnaya in Antarctica and Thumba in India. Dr Parmjit Singh Sehra was then working as a research scientist at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India, when he was sent to the Antarctic continent by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for its exploration.
Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra spent more than 18 months in the Antarctic and participated in the M-100 meteorological rocket soundings of the upper atmosphere at Molodezhnaya in Antarctica. He also visited all the other Soviet Antarctic stations, viz., Bellingshausen, Mirny, Vostok, Novolozarevskaya, and also located the sight of a new Soviet station Russkaya on the shore of the Amundsen sea in Antarctica. From Mirny to Vostok is a distance of about 1500 km in the interior of the Antarctic continent which was covered by Dr. Sehra and his Soviet team in about two months time by using the tractor-driven sledges including dog sledges which was an extremely difficult, harsh, and thrilling experience full of daring adventures. Dr. Sehra also visited the New Zealand station Scott Base as well as the American Antarctic stations Mc Murdo Sound, and the Amundsen Scott South Pole station located at the geographic South Pole under joint exchange scientist programme while he was in the Antarctic during the period 1971 to 1973. For his active participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 in which he earned the unique historical distinction of being the first Indian ever to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent, Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra was awarded the prestigious Soviet Antarctic Medal, Ribbon and Polar Watch by the earstwhile USSR, and the New Zealand Antarctic Society also honoured him.
While Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra was in the Antarctic, sixty M-100 meteorological rockets were launched from Molodezhnaya, Antarctica. Sixteen of these M-100 rockets carried an additional wind sensor “chaff” for determining the mesospheric winds. Most of the rocket flights were successful with the M-100 rocket carrying a payload of 66.65 kg up to an altitude of about 95 km, the rocket being 8.906 metres in length and 0.25 cm in diameter, and 480 kg in weight, propelled by a solid nitrocellulose base, and the average rocket apogee reached was 86.95 km. This was the first meteorological study of the upper atmospheric winds and temperatures ever made in Antarctica.
The “chaff” used in this study was of cylindrical aluminium coated glass fibres which was carried in a special container and ejected at rocket apogee. A high sensitivity Meteor-2 radar checked the descending chaff cloud, and Meteor-1 radar checked the descending parachute, and the data on the drift of the descending chaff and parachute trajectory were used to measure the wind speed and direction in the mesospheric (about 50-80 km), stratospheric (about 20-50 km), and tropospheric (surface-about 20 km) regions. The payload also contained 4 variable resistance thermometers with 40 micron tungsten-rhenium wire for the measurement of atmospheric temperatures up to the mesospheric region.
The detailed results of this first ever investigation of the Antarctic upper atmosphere using M-100 meteorological rockets indicate that the most active period in south polar regions is the winter and the early spring which is marked by large disruptions in both the wind and thermal structures. The rapid shifts in both zonal and meridional components of the upper atmospheric winds, particularly during the winter period May to July, are accompanied by sudden changes in the temperature distribution of the upper atmosphere. These detailed results are published in several international scientific journals of repute such as the Antarctic, Nature, Journal of Geophysical Research, Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, Astrophysics and Space Science, Archives for Meteorology, Geophysics and Bioclimatology, Handbook for the Middle Atmosphere Programme (MAP), AMS Conference Volumes, etc., in addition to many Indian scientific journals, viz., Indian Journal of Radio & Space Physics, Mausam - Quarterly Journals of Meteorology, Hydrology and Geophysics, Indian Mountaineer - Journal of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, etc.
Dr. Sehra’s Antarctic exploration created tremendous interest in India for further exploration of Antarctica. Many of his articles featured in several national and international journals, periodicals, magazines, and newspapers with TV and Radio Interviews with his Proposals for launching Indian Antarctic Expeditions and opening some permanent Indian Research Bases in Antarctica. Some popular science articles on his Antarctic exploration and his ambitious Antarctic proposals for launching Indian Antarctic Expeditions and opening some Indian Research Bases in Antarctica were, for example, published by the Spokesman Weekly, Dharamayug - An Illustrated Hindi Weekly, Prajamata - An Illustrated Kannada Weekly, etc., and also by The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Tribune, The Statesman, The Hindu, The Spotlight, etc., just to name a few, and they appeared in several Indian and foreign languages all over the world.
Dr. Sehra was then working at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India, when he went to the South Pole for Antarctic exploration as the first and the only member from India for participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973. He worked as Project Scientist for upper atmospheric meteorological soundings over the South Pole in Antarctica with M-100 meteorological rockets at the Soviet Antarctic station Molodezhnaya, in particular. He brought lot of meteorological data from Antarctica, analysed it, and carried out its extensive research at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) and Space Applications Centre (SAC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Ahmedabad, India. Based upon this research, he wrote his Ph. D. thesis entitled “Atmospheric Structure: Exploration over Antarctica and Interhemispheric Comparison” for which he was awarded Ph. D. degree in Science by the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India in 1977. This was the first Ph. D. work on Antarctica ever done in India by an Indian scientist, and also the first study of the upper atmospheric wind and thermal structure ever made in Antarctica all over the world.
In his Ph. D. research which is the first study on Antarctica ever made in India as discussed in his Ph. D. thesis “Atmospheric Structure: Exploration over Antarctica and Interhemispheric Comparison”, Dr. Sehra has found out that the winter time stratospheric warmings and coolings over Antarctica may be caused both by an increase in the supply of energy in the form of a vertical flux of geopotential energy consisting of very long waves and by radioactive and photochemical processes taking place in the upper atmosphere. During September when the winter westerlies change to the summer easterlies, the upper atmosphere is again disrupted with a warming of 39oC at 40 km which is attributed to the increase in available heat brought about by the return of sunlight. It is thus concluded that sizable perturbations may occur in the upper atmosphere over Antarctica in the winter regime.
Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra is thus not only the first Indian ever to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent during his participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 for which he has been awarded the prestigious Soviet Antarctic Medal, Ribbon and Polar Watch, he is also the first Indian scientist to write a Ph. D. thesis on Antarctica entitled “Atmospheric Structure: Exploration over Antarctica and Interhemispheric Comparison” for which he was awarded Ph. D. degree in Science by the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India in 1977 when he was working as a research scientist at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) and Space Applications Centre (SAC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Ahemdabad, India. Dr. Sehra is also the first person in Enderby Land in the Antarctic continent to join the New Zealand Antarctic Society from Antarctica itself during his participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 for which he was also honoured by the New Zealand Antarctic Society.


First to propose to India to land in Antarctica and
The Pioneer of the Indian Antarctic Research Programme :

Communication to and from Antarctica was extremely difficult when Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra was participating in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition during 1971 to 1973. Dr. Sehra, therefore, requested the Indian Embassy in Moscow to help him in this regard. His father & mother (parents), S. Mohinder Singh Sehra & Smt. Satwinder Kaur, also requested the Indian Embassy in Moscow to help them in getting in touch with their son, the author, in Antarctica from India. The Indian Embassy, Moscow, contacted the organisers of the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition, 1971-1973, and agreed to convey our short messages between India and Antarctica vide their telegraphic message to Dr. P.S. Sehra dated 24/07/1972, and letter No. MOS (Edn) /327/3/69-70 dated 18th August 1972 to Dr. Sehra’s father Sh. Mohinder Singh Sehra in India. Thus began our exchange of communication between Antarctica and India after a long period of isolation.
Dr. Sehra availed himself of this opportunity and sent a congratulatory message to Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, on the auspicious occassion of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Indian Independence Day (15th August 1972) proposing for the first time that India should also launch Indian Antarctic Expeditions and open some permanent Indian Research Bases in Antarctica. These correspondences are given below in short:


1. Message from the Indian Embassy, Moscow:

To: Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra, 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition, Molodezhnaya,
Antarctica:
Refer your radio message dated 21st and 23rd July 1972. Official messages will be transmitted as requested. Our telephone number is 2278330.
Indian Embassy, Moscow.

2. Letter to Dr. Sehra’s father from Indian Embassy, Moscow:

No.MOS (Edn)/327/3/69-70 18th August 1972

To: Shri Mohinder Singh Sehra,
Postmaster, Phillaur, District Jalandhar, Punjab, India

Dear Shri Sehra,

Kindly refer to your letter addressed to the Ambassador sending a message to your son in Antarctica. We have talked to the organisers of the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition and they have taken the message from us for sending it to your son in Antarctica. We have also requested the organisers to give us any message which your son Dr.Parmjit Singh Sehra might have sent for transmission to you or anywhere else in India.

With best wishes and kind regards,
Yours Sincerely
(Dr.D.C.Biswas)
Scientific Attache
Embassy of India,Moscow.

3. Congratulatory Message and Proposal to India for launching Indian Antarctic Expeditions and opening some permanent Indian Research Bases in Antarctica:

Official Radiogram transmitted on 10th August 1972:
Most urgent Message:

To: The Indian Embassy (Indembassy), Moscow:

Kindly transmit the following radio message to the Prime Minister of India with separate copies to:
• The Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India,
• All India Radio/Doordarshan, New Delhi,
• The Editors of all the leading Indian newspapers including The Times of India, New Delhi,

so as to reach them before 15th August 1972 with its copy for you as well. Please signal its acknowledgement and transmission accordingly.

The message begins:

Heartiest congratulations to all the patriotic citizens on the magnificent 25th Anniversary of our Indian Independence Day. Heartfelt homages to all the brave and victorious patriots whose great sacrifices earned us sovereign freedom. Those heroes shall remain immortal. In their memory and to honour them, every Indian will appreciate if India lands on the South Polar Ice-Cap in the near future and establishes some permanent Indian Research Bases in Antarctica glorifying our historical Indian Independence Day Silver Jubilee Celebrations.
For this purpose, to begin with, among the other member nations, India should also join the Antarctic Treaty. I hope that this auspicious Day will launch the following:
1. ARPI - Antarctic Research Programme of India,
2. INSCAR - Indian National Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research,
3. ICE - Indian Interstate Council of Circumpolar Explorations and Expeditions,
which all combined with logistic support by the Services (Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Indian Army) will cultivate productive scientific research in Antarctica.

That Day is awaited when India reaches Antarctica, the 7th Continent of the world realising the above wish and dream of every Indian Citizen. May India always progress and prosper day and night evermore with many many achievements in all spheres, and happy returns. India has always stood for peace and harmonious relations between all the nations of the world. May Indian policies always succeed in upholding the world peace.
Long live our peaceful “Tiranga” and Long live our “Bharat Mata.”

From: Dr Parmjit Singh Sehra,
First Indian wintering in Antarctica,
Member, 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition, 1971-1973,
Station Molodezhnaya, Antarctica.


The Message ends.



Lok Sabha (Indian Parliament) Unstarred Question No. 8177 Answered by the Prime Minister of India on 25th April 1973:

After his return to India from Antarctica, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, made the following Statement in Lok Sabha (Indian Parliament) under Unstarred Question No. 8177:

Sehra was 1st Indian Scientist to visit Antarctica:

New Delhi, April 25, 1973 (PTI):

The Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, told the Lok Sabha today that on the basis of information available to the Department of Space, Mr. Parmjit Singh Sehra was the First Indian Scientist to have visited Antarctica. She told Mr. Indrajit Gupta in a written answer that Mr. Sehra, a Research Scientist at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, had accompanied a Soviet scientific Expedition to Antarctica during 1971 to 1973. Mrs. Gandhi said, Mr. Sehra who returned to India in 1973 was engaged in research work in upper atmosphere physics for which he was utilising the data collected during the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973. The question of any recognition could arise only after the research work was completed.

(From The Tribune, Thursday, April 26, 1973).


Earlier Involvement of India in Antarctic Research:

The involvement of India in Antarctic research thus dates back to 1971-1973 when Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra actually worked in Antarctica with the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 as the first Indian scientist, wintered over the South Pole, circumnavigated the whole Antarctic continent, and completed explored it. He earned his Ph. D. degree in Science from the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India, in 1977 based upon his pioneering Antarctic research work presented in his Ph. D. thesis entitled “Atmospheric Structure : Exploration over Antarctica and Interhemispheric Comparison” which is the first Ph. D. thesis on Antarctica ever written by an Indian scientist and which is also the first study of the upper atmospheric wind and thermal structure ever made in Antarctica from all over the world. This work has also been published in many reputed international scientific journals such as Nature, Antarctic, Journal of Geophysical Research, Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, Indian Journal of Radio & Space Physics, Mausam - Quarterly Journal of Meteorology, Hydrology and Geophysics, Astrophysics and Space Science, Archives for Meteorology, Hydrology and Bioclimatology, Handbook for MAP, and AMS Conference Volumes, etc., in addition to many TV & Radio Interviews and feature articles in many national and international reputed journals, magazines, periodicals, and newspapers, etc.

Laying the Foundation of the Indian Antarctic Research Programme:

The above work actually laid the foundation for the Indian Antarctic Research Programme, a Project which was, indeed, pushed forward by almost a decade’s correspondence by Dr. Sehra’s father Sh. Mohinder Singh Sehra (Retired Postmaster, Village & P.O. Bhana, Via Dasuya-144205, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India, Phone: 00-91-(0) 1886-260212), with Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, and with the Office of the President of India, since 1971. Some of these letters were marketed as secret to the Prime Minister’s and the President’s Offices by Dr. Sehra’s father showing national importance for launching Indian Antarctic Expeditions and opening some permanent Indian Research Bases in Antarctica. All these letters were kept secret due to which their acknowledgement was seldom received.
In this context, Letter No. F.22 (3/73) PMP dated 2nd April 1973, and Letter No. PMS 8737 dated 6th June 1975 from the Prime Minister’s Office to Dr. Sehra’s father Sh. Mohinder Singh Sehra, and Letter No. F.23-HA/74 dated 29th May 1974 and letter No. F.23-HA/75 dated 30th May 1975 from the Office of the Presdient of India to Dr. Sehra’s father may be quoted here for the sake of reference:

(i) Prime Minister’s Secretariat,
New Delhi.

No. F. 22 (3/73) PMP 2nd April 1973

To : Shri M.S. Sehra,
Postmaster,
Phillaur, District Jalandhar, Punjab, India.

Dear Sir,

I am desired to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 14th March 1973 addressed to the Prime Minister.

Yours sincerely
(N.S. Sreeraman)
(Private Secretary to the Prime Minister)



(ii) Prime Minister’s Secretariat,
New Delhi.

No. PMS-8737 6th June 1975

To : Shri M.S. Sehra,
Postmaster,
Chandigarh – 160017.

Dear Sir,

I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 1st June 1975 addressed to the Prime Minuster.

Yours sincerely
(N.S. Sreeraman)
(Private Secretary to the Prime Minister)

(iii) President’s Secretariat (Rashtapatic Bhavan),
New Delhi.

No.F.23-HA/74 May 29, 1974

To : Shri M.S. Sehra,
Postmaster,
Chandigarh – 160017.

Dear Sir,

I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 28th April 1974 to the President.

Yours sincerely
(K.R. Gupta)
(Deputy Secretary to the President)







(iv) President’s Secretariat (Rashtapatic Bhavan),
New Delhi.

No. F.23-HA/75 May 30, 1975

To : Shri M.S. Sehra,
Postmaster,
Chandigarh – 160017.

Dear Shri Sehra,

I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 25th May 1975 with which you have enclosed a copy of the paper entitled “Upper Mesospheric Wind Structure in Antarctica” by your son Shri Parmjit Singh Sehra.

Yours sincerely
(S.Nilakantan)
(Deputy Secretary to the President)

An Open Letter to the Nation Proposing to Launch Indian Antarctic Expeditions and Open Some Indian Research Bases in Antarctica:

While participating in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition during 1971 to 1973, Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra wrote an Open Letter to the nation proposing to launch Indian Antarctic Expeditions and open some permanent Indian Research Bases in Antarctica which was published by all the leading newspapers in India and abroad and was also broadcast and telecast by the All India Radio and Doordarshan, etc. After his return from Antarctica, it was also published in several other journals, magazines, and periodicals both in India and abroad.

Reference may be given of the Spokesman Weekly, New Delhi, India, 27th Annual Number, pp. 93-95, 1978, in which it appeared under the following title:

Antarctica - Enigmatic Continent: Need to Open an Indian Base:

“Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra was the first and the only Indian so for to have spent more than one and a half years in Antarctica along with the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973. In this article he has not only given general information about this enigmatic continent but has also proposed the launching of Indian Antarctic Expeditions and opening of some permanent Indian Research bases in Antarctica , if only to put the Indian science on the world map.”
“………………..The Antarctic Research Programme of India (ARPI) may be one of the most useful programmes and projects which we may think of undertaking in the near future.Such a big scientific programme,obviously,cannot be run without the Government’s approval because the scientific harvest which the ARPI would yield needs several lakhs of Rupees for its yearly expenditure which only the Government of India can finance. Such a programme (ARPI) may be funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) or some sort of new Government body which may be the Indian Interstate Council of Circumpolar Explorations and Expeditions (ICE). For administrative purposes, the ICE may be attached to the Ministry of External Affairs or to the Ministry of Science and Technology, etc. The prime product of the ARPI would be the scientific knowledge with many other advantages such as putting Indian science on the world map of Antarctica with the possibility of future mineral resources, oil resources, sea food resource, and so on……………….”
(From The Spokesman Weekly, New Delhi, India, pp 93-95, 27th Annual Number, 1978).

A Unique Historical Distinction

Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra’s participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 thus led him to the unique historical distinction of being the first Indian ever to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent for which he has been awarded the prestigious Soviet Antarctic Medal, Ribbon, and Polar Watch by the erstwhile USSR. His Antarctic Expedition and Proposals and his pioneering scientific work in Antarctica published in several reputed international scientific journals and also described in his Ph.D. thesis entitled “Atmospheric Structure: Exploration over Antarctica and Interhemispheric Comparison” for which he was awarded the Ph.D. degree in Science by the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India in 1977, and his parents follow-up action sparked lot of interest in India for further exploration of Antarctica including the launching of Indian Antarctic Expeditions since 1981-1982 and opening of some permanent Indian Research Bases in Antarctica such as “Dakshin Gangotri” and “Maitri” since then.
The credit thus goes to Dr. Sehra as the Pioneer of the Indian Antarctic Research Programme even before regular Indian Antarctic Expeditions were launched since 1981-1982, because he is the one who laid the entire foundation for the Indian Antarctic Research Programme dating back to 1971-1973,and consequently, India opened permanent Research Bases in Antarctica since 1981-1982.Dr. Sehra’s name thus goes deep into the Indian and the world history as the first Indian ever to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent and the Pioneer of the Indian Antarctic Research Programme as he followed his Antarctic dream to reality.



High on Achievements and Academics

Dr. Sehra did his Higher Secondary from the Khalsa Higher Secondary School, Garhdiwala, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab,India, in 1964 , and B.Sc. degree from the D.A.V. College, Jalandhar, Punjab, in 1967, both from the Panjab University. He did his M.Sc. degree in Physics from the University of Allahabad in 1969, and Ph.D.degree in Science from the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India,in 1977.He also won Merit Scholarship, National Scholarship,and National Science Talent Search Scholarship,with high ranks and top positions in the Universities and throughout first class academic career and many distinctions.
He was born on 10th March 1947 in a small village Bhana near Dasuya, District Hoshiarpur in Punjab, India. His parents, father Shri. Mohinder Singh Sehra, Retired Postmaster, and mother Smt. Satwinder Kaur, former Sarpanch of their village Bhana in Punjab,India cultivated a keen interest in him for scientific adventures and exploratory work which ultimately took him to the South Pole at the risk of his life.The whole credit thus goes to Dr. Sehra and his parents for the launching of the Indian Antarctic Expeditions and opening some permanent Indian Research Bases in Antarctica following Dr. Sehra’s active participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 and his pioneering scientific work in Antarctica.
After doing his Ph. D., Dr. Sehra worked at a number of places all over the world. From 1969 to 1974 he was Research Scientist at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), and from 1974 to 1982 he was Senior Scientist at the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in Ahmedabad, India. From 1982 to 1991, he worked as Professor of Meteorology at the Al-Fateh University in Tripoli, Libya,and from 1991-1994 and onwards he worked as a WMO/UN Expert in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialized Agency of the United Nations Organization (UNO) in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition to this, he also worked as a Consultant at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), New York, USA from 1978-1979, and as a Research Scientist at the Academy of Athens in Greece during 1979-1980, and also as Visiting Scientist at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy from 1980-1981.
He has been elected as a Member of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), Boston, Massachusetts, USA in 1990, and as a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society (F.R. Met.S.), Reading, Berkshire, U.K., in 1991, and also as a Member of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS), Ottawa, Canada, in 1999.
At present, Dr. Sehra is working as a Professor of Agrometeorology and Incharge, Weather Forecasting Section in the Department of Agronomy and Agrometeorology at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana in Punjab, India, where he is engaged in teaching and research in meteorology and agrometeorology at the postgraduate and Ph. D. levels. Dr. Sehra has a very vast experience in this filed having worked at different places in all the seven continents of the world including his Antarctic exploration and daring scientific adventures at the South Pole in Antarctica.

Dream Come True

To sum up, in this article, the author has given a brief account of some of his daring Adventures while participating in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition and while wintering over the South Pole and circumnavigating and exploring the Antarctic continent as the first Indian ever to do so in the Indian history, and also briefly describes some of the scientific work done by him as Project Scientist in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973. It is presented in the from of a few papers reprinted from some reputed scientific journals and other sources as such just as an example while their details are given in the author’s various References and other documents included in this article.
The author has also given in this article some historical background material about how India actually got involved in Antarctic research and started sending regular Indian Antarctic Expeditions and established permanent Indian Research Bases in Antarctica since 1981-1982 following Dr. Sehra’s pioneering Antarctic explorations, Antarctic research, and Antarctic proposals, etc. It was, actually, Dr. Sehra’s active participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition during the period 1971 to 1973 which really sparked lot of interest in India for further exploration of Antarctica including launching of regular Indian Antarctic Expeditions and opening of permanent Indian Research Bases in Antarctica such as “Dakshin Gangotri” and “Maitri”, and finally the establishment of a new research institution, viz., National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) at Goa, India, under the Department of Ocean Development (DOD) of the Government of India, with Dr. Prem Chand Pandey as its founder Director which , indeed, made Dr. Sehra’s Antarctic Dream Come True.
The author of this article, Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra, has already been awarded the prestigious Soviet Antarctic Medal, Ribbon, and Polar Watch for his active participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 by the erstwhile USSR. It is hoped that the Government of India will now also suitably award Dr. Sehra for his pioneering Antarctic exploration, scientific research, and Antarctic proposals, etc., and honour its commitment earlier made by it in the Lok Sabha (Indian Parliament) under its Unstarred Question No. 8177 on 25th April 1973.
This article also includes some of Dr. Sehra’s important Antarctic and other References.



LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

1. Indian Scientist (Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra) worked at Soviet Antarctic Station, Antarctic, (Editor J.M. Caffin), published quarterly by the New Zealand Antarctic Society, Vol. 7, No. 7, pp. 224-225, September 1975.
2. Sehra, P.S., Upper mesospheric wind structure in Antarctica, Nature, Vol. 252, No. 5485, pp. 683-686, December 20/27, 1974.
3. Sehra, P.S., Upper atmospheric thermal structure in Antarctica, Nature, Vol. 254, No. 5499, pp. 401-404, April 3, 1975. Sehra, P.S., Atmospheric Structure : Exploration over Antarctica & Equatorial Comparison, Indian Journal of Radio & Space Physics, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 66-74, March 1976.
4. Sehra, P.S., Structure of the Atmosphere over South Polar and Equatorial Regions, Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp.105-117, April 28, 1976.
5. Sehra, P.S., Atmospheric Structure over Antarctica and Equatorial India in Southern Summer, Indian Journal of Meteorology, Hydrology and Geophysics, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 241-252, July 1976.
6. Sehra, P.S., Antarctic Atmosphere: Temperature Exploration and Seasonal Variations, Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 81, No. 21, pp 3715 - 3718, July 20, 1976.
7. Sehra, P.S., Atmospheric Structure : Exploration over Antarctica and Interhemispheric Comparison, Ph.D. Thesis, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad-380009, India, (Gujarat University), pp.1-285, October 1976.
8. Sehra, P.S., Atmospheric Circulation : Exploration over Antarctica and Seasonal Variations, Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 3, No. 11, pp. 669-672, November 1976.
9. Sehra, P.S., First Indian at the South Pole, Indian Mountaineer - Journal of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, No. 2, pp. 79-86, Autumn 1978.
10. Sehra, P.S., Antarctica - Enigmatic Continent, Need to open an Indian Base, The Spokesman Weekly-An International Journal published in New Delhi, India, 27th Annual Number, pp. 93-95, 1978.
11 Sehra, P.S., Exploration of Antaractica, Indian Mountaineer - Journal of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, No. 3, pp. 57-61, Spring 1979.
12. Sehra, P.S., Tropospheric, Stratospheric & Mesospheric Winds over Antarctica, Indian Journal of Radio & Space Physics, Vol. 8, pp. 160-167, August 1979.
13. Sehra, P.S., Stratospheric Circulation over Antarctica, Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, Vol. 54, No. 4, pp.332-340, August 1979.
14. Sehra, P.S., et al., Influence of Solar Proton Event on Upper Stratospheric Temperatures, Praktika - Proceedings of the Academy of Athens, Greece, Vol. 5, pp. 362-371, 1980.
15. Sehra, P.S., Seminars : 1. Upper Atmosphere as seen from the South Pole, and 2. South Pole Odyssey as I look back, given at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy, during the Autumn Course on Physics of flow in the Oceans, Atmosphere and Deserts, SMR/74-40, ICTP, pp. 1-22, September-November 1980.
16. Sehra, P.S., et al., Rocketsonde-derived Stratospheric Temperature Changes associated with a major Solar Cosmic Ray Event, Astrophysics and Space Science, Vol. 74, No.2, pp. 475-480, February 1981.
17. Sehra, P.S., & Hariharn, T.A., Interhemispheric Comparison of Atmospheric Structure, Middle, Atmosphere Program (MAP) - Handbook for MAP, (Editor S.K. Avery), Published by the University of Illinois, USA, Vol.2, pp. 51-60, June 1981.
18. Sehra, P.S., Sharif, T.A., & Nashnosh, A.Y., Sudden Mesospheric Warming over Euatorial Region, Archives for Meteorology, Geophysics and Bioclimatology, Series A, Vol. 33, No.4, pp. 289-296, March 1985.
19. Sehra, P.S., Sharif, T.A., & Nashnosh, A.Y., Interactions between the upper tropospheric and stratospheric region and summer monsoon as revealed by satellite observations, Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, Vol. 64, No. 3, pp. 443-447, June 1986.
20. Sehra, P.S., et al., Some Experimental Studies on Precipitation Enhancement by using Silver Iodide (Agi) Nuclei, Published in the Preprint Volume of the AMS Conference on Cloud Physics held in San Francisco, California, USA, from 23-27 July 1990. The Conference was organised by the American Meteorological Society (AMS), USA. The paper consists of 8 printed pages in the Preprint Volume of the AMS Conference on Cloud Physics, 1990.
21. Sehra, P.S., Stratospheric Temperature and Ozone Variations over Tropical Region during 1979 Summer Monsoon from TIROS-N Satellite, Presented at the American Meteorological Society's 19th Conference in Miami, Florida, USA; (Published by the American Meteorological Society in its Preprint Volume pages 502-507, 1991.
22. Sehra, P.S., Hazardous Pollution Problem over Ludhiana, Punjab, India,
Presented at the Third International Conference on Urban Air Quality-Measurement, Modelling and Management, Loutarki, Greece 19-23 March 2001.
23. Sehra,P.S., A Visit to South Pole & Explore the Antarctic Continent : Daring
Adventures of the First Indian ever to Winter over the South Pole and Circumnavigate and Explore the Antarctic Continent, H.K.T. Publications, P.O.Box 123, Chandigarh – 160017, India, 2003.
and so on……………….

LIST OF SOME POPULAR SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS

1. Soviet TV Documentary and Radio Programme, The Government of USSR made a special TV Documentary and a ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬Radio Programme highlighting the Indian Scientist Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition to the South Pole during 1971-1973. These special scientific programmes were telecast from Moscow which also appeared in all the leading newspapers of the world.
2. Indian Scientist at Base in Enderby Land,
Antarctic - A News Bulletin published quarterly by the New Zealand Antarctic Society from Wellington and Christchurch, New Zealand, Vol. 6, No. 8, p. 292, December 1972.
3. Sehra was 1st Indian Scientist to visit Antarctica, The Tribune, National daily published from Chandigarh, India, by the Trustees of the Triubune, April 26, 1973. The Prime Minister of India made a written statement in the Parliament in New Delhi that Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra was the first Indian Scientist ever to visit Antarctica and to winter over the South Pole. These news also appeared in all the leading newspapers in India and abroad.
4. Sehra, P.S., A Perilous Tryst with the Antarctic Blizzards and Crevasses, PRL Souvenir, published by the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), at its Silver Jubilee Celebrations, Ahmedabad, India, 1973.
5. Sehra, P.S., Antarctica - An International Laboratory for Science, An Invited Lecture delivered at the Physical Research Laboratory, (PRL), Ahmedabad, India, during its Silver Jubilee Celebrations, 1973.
6. Sehra, P.S., My Sientific Adventures at the South Pole, An Invited Paper presented at the Symposium on Space Science at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Trivandrum-22, India, 1973.
7. Sehra, P.S., ISRO Explores Antarctica, A Report giving a brief account of the scientific work done by the Indian Scientist Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra during his participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971-1973 published by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and presented at the joint ISRO/USSR Space Exploration Exhibition held at Bangalore and Bombay, India, 1974. Sehra, P.S., India in the Icy Deserts, The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Government of India, made this Special TV Documentary highlighting the Indian Scientist Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's scientific work at the South Pole during 1971-1973. It was telecast as a special science programme during the joint ISRO/NASA Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) carried out with the US Applications Technology Satellite (ATS-6) in 1975-76.
8. Sehra, P.S., The first Indian Scientist ever to winter over the South Pole, Dharmayug - Illustrated Hindi Weekly, published by the proprietors of the Times of India, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., Headquaters Bombay, India, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 6-14, January 4, 1976.
9. Sehra, P.S., The First Indian at the South Pole, Prajamata - Kannada Illustrated Weekly, published by the Prajamata & Janavani Newspapers and Periodicals, Bangalore, India, Vol. 47, Nos. 43 & 44, June 6 & 13, 1976.
10. Sehra, P.S., Harshest Continent - An Indian remembers Antarctica, The Statesman - National daily simultaneously published from Calcutta and New Delhi, India by the Statesman Ltd., Vol. CXXXII, No. 32492, August 5, 1977.
11. Sehra, P.S., What is it like to winter over South Pole, The Sunday Tribune - National daily, published from Chandigarh, India by the Trustees of The Tribune, Volume XCVII, No. 225, August 14, 1977.
12. Sehra, P.S., South Pole Odyssey as I look back, The Hindu - India's national newspaper simultaneously published from Madras, Coimbatore, Bangalore and Hyderabad by the proprietors Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Vol.100, No.33, August 14,1977.
13. Sehra, P.S., Sojourn in the South Pole, The Times of India - National daily, simultaneously published from Bombay, New Delhi and Ahmedabad, India by the proprietors Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., Vol. CXL, No. 293, October 23, 1977.
14. Sehra, P.S., A Sikh in South Pole Odyssey, The Spokesman Weekly, published from New Delhi, India, Vol. 27, No. 13-14, pp. 37-38, Guru Nanak Number, 1977.
15. Sehra, P.S., The first Indian ever to winter over the South Pole, IMF Book, published by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) at its 20th Anniversary Celebrations, New Delhi, India, 1977-1978.
16. Sans Laurels from Antarctica / Left Out in the Cold, About Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's active participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 and the Government of India's pending recognition for his Antaretic Explorations, The Indian Express, Vol. L., No. 24, Chandigarh, New Delhi, and simultaneously published from all other main capital cities in India, Friday/Saturday, February 5/6, 1982.
17. Antarctica - Land of Emperor Penguins, (Antarctica - Penguin Badshah ki Dharti), About Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's wintering at the South Pole and Exploration of the Antarctic continent, The national daily Hindi newspaper, Punjab Kesri, simultaneously published from Jalandhar and New Delhi, India, Vol. 12, No. 224, Sunday, August 14, 1994.
18. Several news items in the national and international media on Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's accomplishments and achievements, etc.
and so on……………
























Contents of the Book “A Visit to South Pole & Explore the Antarctic Continent” subtitled as “Daring Adventures of the First Indian ever to Winter over the South Pole and Circumnavigate and Explore the Antarctic Contient” by Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra,
Professor of Meteorology,Department of Agronomy and Agrometeorology,
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU),Ludhiana – 141004, Punjab, India,
and also WMO/UN Expert &NASA/USA Consultant :


i. Title page
ii. Foreword
iii. Special Dedication
iv. In Memoriam
v. Sehra was 1st Indian Scientist to Visit Antarctica
vi. Ice Desert & the Nostalgic Tale
vii. About our Members
viii. Indian Scientist Worked at Soviet Antarctic Station

Chapter – 1: Come with me to the South Pole
Chapter – 2: General Survey of Antarctica
Chapter – 3: Circumnavigation of Antarctica
Chapter – 4: My Antarctic Interviews
Chapter – 5: From my South Pole Diary
Chapter – 6: About my Antarctic Voyage
Chapter – 7: Remembering Home from Antarctica
Chapter – 8: An Updated Antarctic Report
Chapter – 9: The First Indian Wintering over the South Pole
Chapter – 10: An Open Letter Proposing Indian Antarctic Bases
Chapter – 11: My Antarctic Programme
Chapter – 12: Antarctic Communication
Chapter – 13: Antarctic Proposal to PM and Some Correspondence
Chapter – 14: Exploration of Antarctica
Chapter – 15: Sojourn in the South Pole
Chapter – 16: Appreciation of My South Pole Odyssey
Chapter – 17: My Scientific Work in Antarctica and Award of Ph.D.
Chapter – 18: Post Doctoral Work and References
Chapter – 19: Sans Laurels from the South Pole
Chapter – 20: Some Accomplishments and Achievements of the Author
Chapter – 21: Preamble of the Book in Hindi

Note : This Book is published by the H.K.T. Publications, P.O.Box 123,
Chnadigarh -160017, India, and it also includes several Antarctic pictures
taken by the author while participating in the 17th Soviet Antarctic
Expedition during the period 1971 to 1973.

Some Accomplishments and Achievements of Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra

(Professor of Meteorology, Deptt. of Agronomy, Agrometeorology & Forestry, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana – 141004, Punjab, India).
e mail – parmjitsinghsehra@hotmail.com

1.1 A Brief Introduction
Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra, an illustrious member of the minority sikh community from Punjab, India (Village & P.O. Bhana, Via Dasuya -144205, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India), who made his career in Meteorology with a constant encouragement and inspiration from his parents and late grandfather Mr. Bir Singh Sehra, has joined the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva, Switzerland, a specialized Agency of the United Nations Organization (UNO), as a WMO/UN Expert with effect from 1st November 1991 for conducting an advanced WMO Training Programme at the Department of Meteorological Services in Harare, Zimbabwe under the FINNIDA/SATCC/WMO Meteorology Project. This project is funded by the Finnish International Development Agency (FINNIDA) and executed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for the overall benefit of the region under the Southern African Transport and Communication Commission (SATCC).
The advanced WMO Training Programme comprises of theoretical studies as well as on-the-job training. The Course covers a thorough study of the various prerequisite subjects in Physics, Mathematics, and Data Processing, and also covers all aspects of detailed Meteorological studies, which is to be followed by on-the-job training. Students are selected from within the Department of Meteorological Services in Harare, Zimbabwe for their further career development and promotion to higher levels through this advanced Training Programme. Successful trainees would be awarded advanced WMO Certificates and departmental promotions at the end of this advanced Training Programme conducted by the WMO.
Prior to the present WMO/UN assignment, Dr. Sehra established a new Department of Meteorology in the Faculty of Science, Al-Fateh University in Tripoli, Libya, a challenging task which was earlier planned to be accomplished in association with the University of Reading, U.K., and with the help of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva, Switzerland which somehow they could not do, but Dr. Sehra accomplished it successfully as the founder Teaching Staff Member and Professor of Meterorology of this Department.
Dr. Sehra has also worked at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Goddard Space Flight Centre, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in New York, USA, as a Consultant in Middle Atmospheric Studies and Climatology at the invitation of NASA, USA. He has also worked at a number of other national and international institutions in various capacities. For example, the Academy of Athens, Greece, invited him to work with them at their Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology in Athens, Greece, as a Research Scientist, where some very important scientific contributions were made with particular reference to rocketsonde-derived stratospheric temperature changes on a global basis. He has also worked at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy, as a Visiting Scientist, at their invitation. While in India, he has worked in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat as a Senior Scientist, and also at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) there as a Research Scientist.
Dr. Sehra has participated in a number of national and international Meetings and Conferences and has made several scientific and technical contributions. He has published a large number of scientific papers and several popular science articles, and has featured in several daily newspapers, magazines and in many radio and television programmes in India as well as abroad. Some of the journals which have published his papers include Nature; Astrophysics and Space Science; Journal of Geophysical Research; Geophysical Research Letters; Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan; Archives for Meteorology, Geophysics and Bioclimatology; Indian Journal of Radio and Space Physics; Indian Journal of Meteorology, Hydrology and Geophysics (Mausam); Antarctic - Journal of the New Zealand Antarctic Society; Indian Mountaineer - Journal of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation; Handbook for MAP - Middle Atmosphere Program; and the AMS preprint volumes etc.
Dr. Sehra, born in Village Bhana, District Hoshiarpur Punjab, India on 10th March 1947 obtained his Higher Secondary Certificate and B.Sc. Degree from the Panjab University, Chandigarh in 1964 and 1967, and M.Sc. Degree in Physics from the University of Allahabad, India in 1969, and his Ph.D. Degree in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science from the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India in 1977. With throughout first class and high ranks he also won the country’s highest National Science Talent Search Scholarship through a National Science Talent Search competition conducted by the Department of Science Education, National council of Educational research and Training (NCERT), Government of India, New Delhi, India which continued from 1964 to 1977.
Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra has earned a unique historical distinction of being the first Indian ever to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent during his participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 under a joint Indo-Soviet agreement. To be first in a population of about one billion (100 crores) people in India in Antarctic Exploration is, indeed, a marvelous achievement in itself, for which Dr. Sehra has been awarded the prestigious Soviet Antarctic Medal, Ribbon & Polar Watch; and the New Zealand Antarctic Society has also honoured him.
Dr. Sehra was then working at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India, when he went to the South Pole for Antarctic Exploration as the first and the only member from India, with the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition. He worked as a Project Scientist for upper atmospheric meteorological soundings over the South Pole with M-100 meteorological rockets at the Soviet Antarctic station Molodezhnaya in Antarctica. He brought lot of meteorological data from the South Pole, analysed it, and carried out its extensive research at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India, and wrote his Ph.D. Thesis entitled ‘Atmospheric Structure: Exploration over Antarctica and Interhemispheric Comparison’, for which he was awarded Ph.D. (Science) Degree by the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India in 1977.
Dr. Sehra’s Antarctic Exploration created tremendous interest in India for further exploration of Antarctica. Many of his articles featured in several national and international daily newspapers and magazines with his proposals for opening some Indian Bases in Antarctica. Some popular science articles on his Antarctic Exploration and his ambitious proposals of opening Indian Bases in Antarctica were, for example, published by the Spokesman Weekly, Dharmayug and Prajamata magazines, etc., and also by many newspapers such as The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Tribune, The Statesman, The Hindu, and The Spotlight, etc., just to name a few, and they appeared in several Indian and foreign languages. Consequently, his proposals of opening some Indian Scientific Research stations in Antarctica were realized and his dream came true in 1982, when India launched regular Indian Expeditions to Antarctica and opened an Indian Antarctic station ‘Dakshin Gangotari’ and subsequently another Indian Antarctic station ‘Maitri’ there. Since then, regular Indian Expeditions are sent to Antarctica for its further exploration on a continuous basis.
Dr. Sehra became a Member of the American Meteorological Society. Boston. Massachusetts, USA in 1990. He has also been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, Reading, Berkshire, U.K. in 1991, and a member of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, Ottawa, Canada in 1999. He wishes to continue working in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva, Switzerland, a specialized Agency of the United Nations Organization (UNO), because it provides a true international scope for the advancement of meteorological, hydrological, oceanic, environmental, climatic, and related sciences, and their applications, etc., through its several international programmes and projects all over the world.
20.2 A Short Bio-Data of Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra
Present Address : Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra, Ph.D. (Science),
c/o Dr. (Mrs.) Bhupinder Sehra,

MBBS, MD, Gynaecologist,
S. Nihal Singh Pahwa Charitable Hospital,
Industrial Area-B, Ludhiana-141003, Punjab, India, Phone : 00-91-(0)161-545945.
Permanent Address: Village & P.O. Bhana, Via Dasuya-144205, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India,
Phone : 00-91-(0)-1886-60212.
Credentials Summary:
Ph.D. (Science); WMO/UN Expert (Geneva, Switzerland); F.R.Met.S. (UK); MAMS (USA); Research Scientist, Academy of Athens, Greece; Visiting Scientist, ICTP, Triests, Italy; Prof. of Meteorology & Atmospheric Science, Al-Fateh University, Tripoli, Libya; Senior Scientist, SAC, ISRO & PRL Ahmedabad, India; First Indian ever to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent, and the only Indian Recipient of the great Soviet honours such as the Soviet Antarctic Medal, Ribbon & Polar Watch.
Personal :
Born on 10th March 1947 at Village & P.O. Bhana, via Dasuya-144205, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India; Married and have two children, son & daughter.
Education :
Primary education from the Government Primary School, Bhana/Mangarh, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab, india, upto 1957; and Secondary education and Higher Secondary from the Khalsa Higher Secondary School, Garhdiwala, District Hoshiarpur, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India from 1957 to 1964.
B.Sc. in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics & English from the D.A.V. College, Jalandhar, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India in 1967.
M.Sc. in Physics from the University of Allahabad, Allahabad, India in 1969.
Ph.D. in Meteorology & Atmospheric Science/Atmospheric Physics from the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India in 1977.
Professional Appointments :
1969-1974/1977 : Research Scientist, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
1971-1973 : Project Scientist, 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition, and the First Indian ever to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent, and the only Indian Recipient of the prestigious Soviet Antarctic Medal, Ribbon & Polar watch.
1977 : Awarded Ph.D. Degree in Meteorology & Atmospheric Science/Atmospheric Physics by the Gujarat University for the Ph.D. Thesis entitled “Atomospheric Structure : Exploration over Antarctica and Interhemispheric Comparison”.
1974-1982 : Senior Scientist, Space Applications Centre (SAC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Ahmedabad, India.
1978-1979 : Consultant, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), New York, USA.
1979-1980 : Research Scientist, Academy of Athens, Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics & Climatology, Athens, Greece.
1980-1981 : Visiting Scientist, International Centre for Theorotical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy.
1982-1991: Professor of Meteorology & Atmospheric Science, Faculty of Science, Al-Fateh University, Tripoli, Libya.
1991 on wards : WMO/UN Expert for an advanced Training Programme in Meteorology at the Department of Meteorological Services, Harare, Zimbabwe, conducted by the world Meteorological Organization (WMO), United Nations Organisation (UNO), Geneva, Switzerland. Association with the WMO/UN is continued further also.
1990 onwards : Honorary Scientist, Member, Fellow of many reputed International Scientific Institutions and Learned Societies such as:
Member, American Meteorological Society (MAMS), Boston, Massachussetts, USA ;
Fellow, Royal Meteorological Society (F.R.Met.S.), Reading, Berkshire, UK;
Member, Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (MCMOS), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada,

Scholarships, Distinctions & Publications :
Several years Research & Teaching experience. Throughout first class academic career with high ranks and distinctions and merit & national scholarships, and also won India’s highest National Science Talent Search Scholarship of the NCERT which continued from 1964 to 1977. More than 100 scientific, teachnical and popular scientific papers in reputed international scientific Journals with special feature articles and Television & Radio interviews on his South Pole explorations in India and abroad. Attended several national and international conferences in India as well as abroad. Has earned the unique historical distinction of being the first Indian ever to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Autarctic continent. His Antarctic explorations created tremendous interest in India for further exploration of the Antarctic continent including the opening of some Indian Research Bases there, viz., Dakshin Gangotri and Maitri.
20.3 Resume
(20.3.1) Personal Particulars
1. Name : Parmjit Singh Sehra
2. Father's Name : Mohinder Singh Sehra
3. Mother's Name : Satwinder Kaur
4. Address : Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra,
WMO/UN Expert, c/o
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), P.O. Box. 4775, Harare, Zimbabwe, Africa.
5. Duty Station : Department of Metorological Services, P.O. Box BE 150, Belvedere, Harare, Zimbabwe, Africa.
6 Employer : World Meteorological Organization (WMO), United Nations Organization (UNO), 7 bis, Avenue de la Paix, Case Postale No. 2300, CH-1211, Geneva 2, Switzerland.
7. Permanent Address : Village & P.O. Bhana, via Dasuya-144205, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India.
6.8 8. Place of Birth : Village & P.O. Bhana, via Dasuya- 144205,District Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India.
9. Date of Birth : 10th March 1947.
10. Marital status : Married to Dr. (Mrs.) Bhupinder Sehra, M.B.B.S., M.D. (Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Have got two children : son, Mr. Gaurav Singh Sehra, born on 19th July 1983 in Tripoli, Libya, and daughter, Miss Pamela Sehra, born on 3rd January 1987 in Chandigarh, India.
11. Family’s Present Address and Place of Work
Dr. (Mrs.) Bhupinder Sehra, M.B.B.S., M.D., Medical Specialist (Obstetrician & Gynaecologist), Consultant & Head, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, S. Nihal Singh Pahwa Charitable Hospital, Industrial Area-B, Ludhiana - 141003, Punjab, India; Personal Phone at our Hospital Campus Residence, Apartment B-2: with national code : 0161-545945, and international code: 00-91-161-545945,
20.3.2 Educational Qualifications:
ii) National Science Talent Search Competition conducted by the Department of Science Education, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi, India in 1964. Awarded Gold Medal, Certificate Government of India, of Merit and the country's highest National Science Talent Search Scholarship which continued throughout the academic career upto award of the Ph.D. Degree in Atomspheric Sciences from 1964 upto 1977.
iii) B.Sc. with Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and English as the main subjects from the D.A.V. College, Jalandhar, Panjab University, Chandigarh India in 1967 securing 85.3% marks in B.Sc. - III and 1st position in the University, and awarded National Scholarship.
v) Ph.D. (Science) awarded in 1977 by the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India for research in Meteorology & Atmospheric Science/Atmospheric Physics, carried out at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India. The Ph.D. thesis "Atmospheric Structure : Exploration over Antarctica and Interhemispheric Comparison" was evaluated and greatly appreciated by NASA/USA scientists which is also published in many reputed international scientific journals.
iv) M.Sc.(Physics) Degree awarded in 1969 by the University of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India with 1st class & high rank and National Scholarship.
Higher Secondary in 1964 from the Khalsa Higher
Secondary School, Garhdiwala, Hoshiarpur, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India with Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and English as the main subjects securing 1st class with 73.5% marks and high rank in the University, and also awarded National Scholarship.
20.3.3 Research & Teaching Experience :
Several years of research and teaching experience in Meteorology & Atmospheric Science/Atmospheric Physics at the following institutions :
(i) Physical Research Laboratorya (PRL), Navrangpura, Ahemdabad-380009, India, from 1969 to 1974.
(ii) Space Applications Centre (SAC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Jodhpur Tekra, Ahmedabad-380053, India, from 1974 to 1982.
(iii) Al-Fateh University, Faculty of Science, Department of Meterology, P.O. Box 13685, Tripoli, Libya, from 1982 to 1991.
(iv) World Meterological Organization (WMO), United Nations Organization (UNO), Geneva, Switzerland from 1991 onwards.
20.3.4. A Unique Historical Distinction
Honoured as the first Indian ever to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent while participating in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973. Worked as Project Scientist for upper Atmospheric meterological soundings with M-100 rockets at the Soviet Antarctic station Molodezhnaya, and some other stations in Antarctica, and utilised the meterological rocketsonde data including some other scientific data collected from there for Ph.D. work. Awarded the prestigious Soviet Antarctic Medal, Ribbon & Polar Watch in recognition of Antarctic explorations. This work created tremendous interect in India for further exploration of Antarctica, and consequently, India has started sending its own Scientific Expeditions to Antarctica from 1982 on a regular basis and has also opened two Indian Research Bases in Antarctica, viz., Dakshin Gangotri and Maitri, thereby accepting and honouring such proposals made by the author earlier, and thus making his dream come true.
20.3.5 Postdoctoral Fellowships and Foreign Assignments
Awarded the following postdoctoral fellowships to carry out research in meteorological studies of the terrestrial atmosphere and also to provide consultation in stratospheric dynamics related to climate modelling :
(i) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), New York, U.S.A, awarded a consultation fellowship in 1978 in order to provide them consultations in stratospheric dynamics related to cliate modeling. Accordingly, visited the GISS/NASA, USA, and worked there during the period 1978-79 and also gave there a a number of Seminars on "The Restless Atmosphere" in addition to the consultations.
(ii) Academy of Athens, Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Athens, Greece, awarded a vising fellowship in 1979 in order to carry out collaborative research with them on middle atmospheric studies and sun weather relationships. Accordingly, worked thereuring the d period 1979-1980, and based upon that research work a paper "Rocketsonde-derived stratospheric temperature changes associated with a major solar cosmic ray event" was published in Astrophysics and Space Science, Vol. 74, No. 2, pp. 475-480, February 1981.
International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy, awarded visiting fellowships twice : firstly in January 1980 while still at Athens, in order to hold discussions with them in atmospheric physics there, and secondly from September to December 1980 in order to participate in an "Autumn Course on the Physics of Flow in Oceans, Atmosphere and Deserts" there, which was followed by a related visit to Sebha in Libya during the period 1980-1981 for attending a "Topical Meeting on Desertification in and around Sebha (Libya)". Gave a number of Seminars at the ICTP, Trieste, Italy during this Course and also at Sebha, Libya in the Topical Meeting during this period there, which was extended upto 1981.
AL-Fateh University, Faculty of Science, Department of Meteorology, Tripoli, Libya, awarded a yearly renewable teaching and research job in Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences in 1981. Accordingly, joined this University for teaching this subject at graduats level and also carrying out research in this field and worked there during the period 1981-1991 and established this new Department of Mereorology there.
(v) World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialized Agency of the United Nations Organization (UNO), Geneva, Switzerland, offered a regular job of a WMO/UN Expert in 1991. Accordingly, have been working there as WMO/UN Expert since then.

20.3.6 Publications
The author has published several scientific papers in reputed international journals and has a number of scientific & technical unpublished institutional reports and also a large number of popupar-scientific publications in various periodicals as given in the next sections.
20.3.7 Summary of the work accomplished
Using the M-100 meteorological rocketsonde data collected over Antarctica, it has been shown for the first time that sizable perturbations occur in the uper atmospheric thermal and dynamical structures over the South Polar regions during the winter regime which are accompanied by sudden stratospheric warmings there. Detailed results are published in many reputed international scientific journals.
Worked on the development of an indigenous meteorological payload for Menaka rockers, particularly on its software development for obtaining upper atmospheric winds and temperatures from a number of rocket stations in India.
Worked on the software development of the Omega Upsonde Project in India. A quick version of the software for Omega station identification, synchronisation, and wind derivation was prepared while at SAC/ISRO in Ahmedabad, India.
Worked on the development of necessary software for the extraction of stratospheric layer thicknesses and generation of stratospheric constant pressure maps from the raw Stratospheric Sounding Unit (SSU) data collected via VHF telemetry as well as in HRPT format from the TIROS-N/NOAA-6 series of operational meteorological satellites. As a member of the "Satellite Data and Software" working group of the Indian Middle Atmosphere Programme (IMAP), made a substantial contribution to this international programme.
Carried out research and teaching in all aspects of Meteorology at the Faculty of Science, A1-Fateh University, Tripoli, Libya by establishing a new Department of Meteorology and worked there as Professor of Meteorology during the period 1981-1991. Since 1991, working in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialized Agency of the United Nations Organization (UNO), Geneva, Switzerland as a WMO/UN Expert.
20.3.8 Membership of Professional Institutions
Has been elected as a Member of the American Meteorological Society (MAMS), Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Has also been a member of the Indian Meteorological Society, Indian Rocket Society, Indian Physics Association, New Zealand Antarctic Society, and many other national and international scientific institutions; and has also participated in several national and international scientific symposia. Has also been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society (F.R.Met.S), Reading, Berkshire, UK, and a Member of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, (MCMOS), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

20.4 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
1. Indian Scientist (Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra) worked at Soviet Antarctic Station, Antarctic, (Editor J.M. Caffin), published quarterly by the New Zealand Antarctic Society, Vol. 7, No. 7, pp. 224-225, September 1975.
2. Sehra, P.S., Upper mesospheric wind structure in Antarctica, Nature, Vol. 252, No. 5485, pp. 683-686, December 20/27, 1974.
3. Sehra, P.S., Upper atmospheric thermal structure in Antarctica, Nature, Vol. 254, No. 5499, pp. 401-404, April 3, 1975. Sehra, P.S., Atmospheric Structure : Exploration over Antarctica & Equatorial Comparison, Indian Journal of Radio & Space Physics, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 66-74, March 1976.
4. Sehra, P.S., Structure of the Atmosphere over South Polar and Equatorial Regions, Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp.105-117, April 28, 1976.
5. Sehra, P.S., Atmospheric Structure over Antarctica and Equatorial India in Southern Summer, Indian Journal of Meteorology, Hydrology and Geophysics, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 241-252, July 1976.
6. Sehra, P.S., Antarctic Atmosphere: Temperature Exploration and Seasonal Variations, Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 81, No. 21, pp 3715 - 3718, July 20, 1976.
7. Sehra, P.S., Atmospheric Structure : Exploration over Antarctica and Interhemispheric Comparison, Ph.D. Thesis, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad-380009, India, (Gujarat University), pp.1-285, October 1976.
8. Sehra, P.S., Atmospheric Circulation : Exploration over Antarctica and Seasonal Variations, Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 3, No. 11, pp. 669-672, November 1976.
9. Sehra, P.S., First Indian at the South Pole, Indian Mountaineer - Journal of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, No. 2, pp. 79-86, Autumn 1978.
10. Sehra, P.S., Antarctica - Enigmatic Continent, Need to open an Indian Base, The Spokesman Weekly-An International Journal published in New Delhi, India, 27th Annual Number, pp. 93-95, 1978.
11 Sehra, P.S., Exploration of Antaractica, Indian Mountaineer - Journal of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, No. 3, pp. 57-61, Spring 1979.
12. Sehra, P.S., Tropospheric, Stratospheric & Mesospheric Winds over Antarctica, Indian Journal of Radio & Space Physics, Vol. 8, pp. 160-167, August 1979.
13. Sehra, P.S., Stratospheric Circulation over Antarctica, Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, Vol. 54, No. 4, pp.332-340, August 1979.
14. Sehra, P.S., et al., Influence of Solar Proton Event on Upper Stratospheric Temperatures, Praktika - Proceedings of the Academy of Athens, Greece, Vol. 5, pp. 362-371, 1980.
15. Sehra, P.S., Seminars : 1. Upper Atmosphere as seen from the South Pole, and 2. South Pole Odyssey as I look back, given at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy, during the Autumn Course on Physics of flow in the Oceans, Atmosphere and Deserts, SMR/74-40, ICTP, pp. 1-22, September-November 1980.
16. Sehra, P.S., et al., Rocketsonde-derived Stratospheric Temperature Changes associated with a major Solar Cosmic Ray Event, Astrophysics and Space Science, Vol. 74, No.2, pp. 475-480, February 1981.
17. Sehra, P.S., & Hariharn, T.A., Interhemispheric Comparison of Atmospheric Structure, Middle, Atmosphere Program (MAP) - Handbook for MAP, (Editor S.K. Avery), Published by the University of Illinois, USA, Vol.2, pp. 51-60, June 1981.
18. Sehra, P.S., Sharif, T.A., & Nashnosh, A.Y., Sudden Mesospheric Warming over Euatorial Region, Archives for Meteorology, Geophysics and Bioclimatology, Series A, Vol. 33, No.4, pp. 289-296, March 1985.
19. Sehra, P.S., Sharif, T.A., & Nashnosh, A.Y., Interactions between the upper tropospheric and stratospheric region and summer monsoon as revealed by satellite observations, Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, Vol. 64, No. 3, pp. 443-447, June 1986.
20. Sehra, P.S., et al., Some Experimental Studies on Precipitation Enhancement by using Silver Iodide (Agi) Nuclei, Published in the Preprint Volume of the AMS Conference on Cloud Physics held in San Francisco, California, USA, from 23-27 July 1990. The Conference was organised by the American Meteorological Society (AMS), USA. The paper consists of 8 printed pages in the Preprint Volume of the AMS Conference on Cloud Physics, 1990.
21. Sehra, P.S., Stratospheric Temperature and Ozone Variations over Tropical Region during 1979 Summer Monsoon from TIROS-N Satellite, Presented at the American Meteorological Society's 19th Conference in Miami, Florida, USA; (Published by the American Meteorological Society in its Preprint Volume pages 502-507, 1991.
22. Sehra, P.S., Hazardous Pollution Problem over Ludhiana, Punjab, India, Presented at the Third International Conference on Urban Air Quality-Measurement, Modelling and Management, Loutarki, Greece 19-23 March 2001.
20.5 LIST OF SOME POPULAR SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS
1. Soviet TV Documentary and Radio Programme, The Government of USSR made a special TV Documentary and a ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬Radio Programme highlighting the Indian Scientist Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition to the South Pole during 1971-1973. These special scientific programmes were telecast from Moscow which also appeared in all the leading newspapers of the world.
2. Indian Scientist at Base in Enderby Land,
Antarctic - A News Bulletin published quarterly by the New Zealand Antarctic Society from Wellington and Christchurch, New Zealand, Vol. 6, No. 8, p. 292, December 1972.
3. Sehra was 1st Indian Scientist to visit Antarctica, The Tribune, National daily published from Chandigarh, India, by the Trustees of the Triubune, April 26, 1973. The Prime Minister of India made a written statement in the Parliament in New Delhi that Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra was the first Indian Scientist ever to visit Antarctica and to winter over the South Pole. These news also appeared in all the leading newspapers in India and abroad.
4. Sehra, P.S., A Perilous Tryst with the Antarctic Blizzards and Crevasses, PRL Souvenir, published by the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), at its Silver Jubilee Celebrations, Ahmedabad, India, 1973.
5. Sehra, P.S., Antarctica - An International Laboratory for Science, An Invited Lecture delivered at the Physical Research Laboratory, (PRL), Ahmedabad, India, during its Silver Jubilee Celebrations, 1973.
6. Sehra, P.S., My Sientific Adventures at the South Pole, An Invited Paper presented at the Symposium on Space Science at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Trivandrum-22, India, 1973.
7. Sehra, P.S., ISRO Explores Antarctica, A Report giving a brief account of the scientific work done by the Indian Scientist Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra during his participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971-1973 published by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and presented at the joint ISRO/USSR Space Exploration Exhibition held at Bangalore and Bombay, India, 1974. Sehra, P.S., India in the Icy Deserts, The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Government of India, made this Special TV Documentary highlighting the Indian Scientist Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's scientific work at the South Pole during 1971-1973. It was telecast as a special science programme during the joint ISRO/NASA Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) carried out with the US Applications Technology Satellite (ATS-6) in 1975-76.
8. Sehra, P.S., The first Indian Scientist ever to winter over the South Pole, Dharmayug - Illustrated Hindi Weekly, published by the proprietors of the Times of India, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., Headquaters Bombay, India, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 6-14, January 4, 1976.
9. Sehra, P.S., The First Indian at the South Pole, Prajamata - Kannada Illustrated Weekly, published by the Prajamata & Janavani Newspapers and Periodicals, Bangalore, India, Vol. 47, Nos. 43 & 44, June 6 & 13, 1976.
10. Sehra, P.S., Harshest Continent - An Indian remembers Antarctica, The Statesman - National daily simultaneously published from Calcutta and New Delhi, India by the Statesman Ltd., Vol. CXXXII, No. 32492, August 5, 1977.
11. Sehra, P.S., What is it like to winter over South Pole, The Sunday Tribune - National daily, published from Chandigarh, India by the Trustees of The Tribune, Volume XCVII, No. 225, August 14, 1977.
12. Sehra, P.S., South Pole Odyssey as I look back, The Hindu - India's national newspaper simultaneously published from Madras, Coimbatore, Bangalore and Hyderabad by the proprietors Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Vol.100, No.33, August 14,1977.
13. Sehra, P.S., Sojourn in the South Pole, The Times of India - National daily, simultaneously published from Bombay, New Delhi and Ahmedabad, India by the proprietors Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., Vol. CXL, No. 293, October 23, 1977.
14. Sehra, P.S., A Sikh in South Pole Odyssey, The Spokesman Weekly, published from New Delhi, India, Vol. 27, No. 13-14, pp. 37-38, Guru Nanak Number, 1977.
15. Sehra, P.S., The first Indian ever to winter over the South Pole, IMF Book, published by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) at its 20th Anniversary Celebrations, New Delhi, India, 1977-1978.
16. Sans Laurels from Antarctica / Left Out in the Cold, About Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's active participation in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 and the Government of India's pending recognition for his Antaretic Explorations, The Indian Express, Vol. L., No. 24, Chandigarh, New Delhi, and simultaneously published from all other main capital cities in India, Friday/Saturday, February 5/6, 1982.
17. Antarctica - Land of Emperor Penguins, (Antarctica - Penguin Badshah ki Dharti), About Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's wintering at the South Pole and Exploration of the Antarctic continent, The national daily Hindi newspaper, Punjab Kesri, simultaneously published from Jalandhar and New Delhi, India, Vol. 12, No. 224, Sunday, August 14, 1994.
18. Several news items in the national and international media on Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's accomplishments and achievements, etc.
20.6 List of Some Scientific Conferences attended and Contributions made
1. Participated in a number of Summer Schools in basic sciences under the National Science Talent Search Scheme of the Department of Science Education, Government of India, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi - 110016, India, as a National Science Talent Search Scholar during the period form 1964 to 1977 while holding the country's highest National Science Talent Search Scholarship during this period. These Summer Schools were, for example, held at the Lucknow University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (U.P.); Meerut College, Meerut University, Meerut, U.P.; Panjab University, Chandigarh; Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Calcutta; Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, Gujarat; Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay, Bombay, in India, etc.
2. Participated in the joint Indo-Soviet Space Exploration Exhibition at Bangalore and Bombay in India in 1974, which was organised by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in collaboration with the USSR, and presented a scientific and technical Report "ISRO Explores Antarctica", there.
3. Participated in the Scientific Symposium on "Earth's Near Space Environment" at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi, India, in 1974, and presented a paper entitled “The Antarctic and the Equatorial Atmospheric Structure", based on my Antarctic explorations.
4. Participated in a Course of Lectures on "Numerical Weather Prediction" at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, during November 1975.
5. Participated in the Scientific Symposium on "Solar Planetary Physics" held at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India, during January 20-24, 1976, and presented a paper on "Meteorology and Upper Atmosphere", and also took part in other scientific discussions.
6. Participated in the 18th Plenary Meeting of International Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) held at Varna, Bulgaria, during May-June 1975, and presented a paper "Atmospheric Structure in the Eastern and the Western Hemispheres", with its Proceedings received in the PRL Library, Ahmedabad, India, in 1976.
7. Participated in the Scientific Symposium on "Tropical Monsoons", held at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, India, during 8-10 September 1976, and presented a paper entitled "South Polar and Equatorial Atmospheric Structure”.
8. Participated in the Indo-French Working on "Numerical 8.Participated in the Indo-French workshop on “Numerical Weather Prediction" held at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi, India, during January 17-28, 1977, and presented a paper "Exploration of Atmospheric Structure at the South Pole".
9. Participated in the Scientific Advisory Board Meeting of the Monsoon Experiment (MONEX), at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India, during May 1977.
10. Participated in the Scientific Workshop on "Satellites for Earth Observations (SEO), held at the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Ahmedabad, India, during 2-4 June 1977.
11. Participated in the Monsoon Experiment (MONEX)-1977, aboard he Soviet Scientific Research Vessels sailing from Bombay, India, in June 1977 in view of the MONEX Advisory Board Meeting held earlier at the PRL, Ahmedabad, India, in May 1977.
12. Participated in the Scientific Seminars entitled "Equatorial Waves in the Lower Stratosphere" and other allied topics, at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)/ Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO, Ahmedabad, India, in July 1977.
13. Participated in the Scientific Workshop entitled "Equatorial Electrojet and Associated Phenomenon" held at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India, during 25-29 October 1977.
14. Participated in the Scientific Symposium on "Remote Sensing for Hydrology, Agriculture, and Mineral Resources", held at the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Ahmedabad, India, in November 1977.
15. Participated in the IFIAS Workshop entitled "Drought and Man", organised by the International Federation of Institutes for Advanced Study (IFIAS), at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India, in November 1977.
16. Participated in the joint IUTAM/IUGG International Symposium on "Monsoon Dynamics", held at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi, India, during 5-9 December 1977, and presented a paper “Interactions between the Middle Atmosphere and the Summer Monsoons”.
17. Participated in the Scientific Seminars on "Predictability of Monsoons" given by Prof. J. Charney of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)/Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO, Ahmedabad, India, in December 1977.
18. Delivered an Invited lecture on "My Scientific Adventures at the South Pole", at the Sheth Chimanlal Nagindas Vidyavihar, Ambawadi, Ellis Bridge, Ahmedabad-380006, Gujarat, India, on 18th January 1978.
19. Delivered an invited lecture on "My Scientific Explorations at the South Pole", organised by the Inter-Disciplinary Research and Teaching Committee of the Faculty of Science at the Botany Department, University School of Sciences, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad-380009, India, on 10th March 1978.
20. Participated in the Scientific Seminars on "Sun-Weather Relationships and Studies of the Middle Atmosphere" held at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India, in March 1978, and presented a paper on "Interactions between the Troposphere and the Stratosphere".
21. Participated in "An Orientation Programme on Microprocessors and Minicomputers" jointly organised by the Computer Society of India and the Baroda Productivity Council at Baroda, Gujarat State, India, in May 1978.
22 Participated in the “Antarctic and Southern Hemisphere Aeronomy Year (ASHAY) Conference” organized by the 21st COSPAR Meeting held at Innsbruck, Ausria, during May-June 1978, and presented a paper entitled “Stratospheric Circulation over Antarctica”.
23 Delivered an invited lecture on “Geographical Account of the Antarctic Region” at the Department of Geography, University School of Social Sciences, Gujarat Univesity, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad-380009, India, on 28th July 1978.
24 Delivered an invited lecture on “The Restless Atmosphere” at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 2880 Broadway, 112th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025, U.S.A., on Tuesday, 9th January 1979, in addition to so many other scientific seminars delivered there.
25 Participated in the “Middle Atmosphere Programme (MAP) Workship” organised by the Indian National Steering Committee on Middle Atmosphere Programme (MAP), at the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, india, in 1979, and presented two Working papers, viz., “3-D Stratospheric Modelling”, and “Satellite Observations for the Middle Atmosphere Programme”.
26 Delivered an invited lecture on “Hemispheric Differences in Stratospheric Circulation from Global Rocketsonde Measurements” at the Reserch Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 3rd September Street No. 131, Athens 813, Greece, in November 1979, in addition to so many other scientific seminars there.
27 Delivered an invited lecture on “A Comparison of Atmospheric Structure over Antarctica and Equatorial Region” at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) , Strada Costiera 11, P.O. Box 586, Miramare, 34100 Trieste, Italy, in January 1980.
28 Participated in the “International Symposium on Middle Atmosphere Dynamics and Transport” held at the University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, U.S.A., during the period from July 28 to August 1,1980, and presented a paper “Interhemispheric Comparison of Atmospheric Structure”, which was also subsequently published in the “Handbook for Middle Atmosphere Programme (MAP)”, University of Illinois Press, Vol. 2, pp. 475-480, June 1981.
29 Delivered invited lectures: (i) “Upper Atmosphere as seen from the South Pole”, and (ii) “South Pole Odysssey as I look back”, at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Strada Costiera 11, P.O. Box 586, Miramare, 34100 Trieste, Italy, on 16th October 1980 and 23rd October 1980, respectively, in addition to so many other scientifc seminars given there.
30 Participated in the “Topical Meting on Desertification in and around Sebha (Libya)” at Sebha in Libya during December 1980 to it January 1981, jointly organised by the International Centre for Theoretical Physcis (ICTP), Trieste, Italy, and the Faculty of Education, A1-Fateh University, Tripoli,. Libya, and made significant contributions on Desertification in this Meeting. Consequently, I was invited to open a new Department of Meteorology in the Faculty of Science of A1-Fateh University in Tripoli, Libya, from the Academic Year 1981-82.
31 Participated in the National Workshop on “Atmospheric Studies using High Power VHF Radar” held at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India, during 2-4 February 1981, and presented a paper on “Atmospheric Structure and Dynamics”.
32 Participated in the “National Space Science Symposium” held at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India, during the period from 3-6 February 1982, and presented a paper on “Stratospheric Constant Pressure Maps from TIROS-N SSU Data”, and also another paper on “Inter-coupling between the Stratosphere and the Summer Monsoons”.
33 Participated in the “AMS Conference on Cloud Physcis” organised by the American Meteorological Society in San Francisco, California, U.S.A., from 23-27 July 1990, and presented a paper on “Some Experimental Studies on Precipitation Enhancement by using Silver Iodide (AgI) Nuclei”, which is also published in the AMS Preprint Volume, pp. 379-386, 1990, American Meteorlogical Society (AMS), 45 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
34 Participated in the “19th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology” organised by the American Meteorological Society in Miami, Florida, U,S.A., from 6-10 May 1991, and presented a paper on “Stratospheric Temperature and Ozone Variations over Tropical Region during 1979 Summer Monsoon from TIROS-N Satellite”, which is also published by the American Meteorological Society (AMS), 45 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02108-3693, U.S.A., in the AMS Preprint Volume, pp. 502-507, 1991.
And so on ...............
20.7 List of Some Institutional Reports
Institute :
Meteorology Division, Remote Sensing Area, MET/RSA,
Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research
Organisation, SAC/ISRO, Ahmedabad – 380 053, India)
1. Sehra, P.S., Symposium on Tropical Monsoons, held at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune from September 8-10, 1976, A Brief Report, pp.1-7, 1976.
2 Sehra, P.S., A Review paper on Atmospheric Waves and Tides, pp. 1-31, October 1977.
3 Sehra, P.S., Physcis and Dynamics of the Falling Objects in the Terrestrial Atmosphere, RSA/MET/T/04/SR-1/78, pp. 1-21, January 1978.
4 Sehra, P.S., A Brief Report on the Proceedings of “An Orientation Programme on Microprocessors & Minicomputers” jointly organised by the Computer Society of India and Baroda Productivity Council at Baroda during 5-7 May 1978, RSA/MET/T/07, pp. 1-11 May 1978.
5 Sehra, P.S., Note on Satellite Meteorology, A Summary of the Current Uses of Satellite Data in a Meteorlogical Forecast Office, RSA/MET/T/11, pp. 1-6, July 1978.
6 Sehra, P.S., A Scientific Report on “My Consultation Visit to GISS/NASA on Stratospheric Dynamics related to Climate Modeling” at the invitation of Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), New York, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA in January 1979, RSA/MET/T/13/01-79, pp. 1-35, January 1979.
7 Sehra, P.S., Three-Dimensional (3-D) Stratospheric Modelling, A Working Paper presented to the Indian National Steering Committee for the Middle Atmosphere Program (MAP) at MAP Workshop held at SAC/ISRO from 22-24 March 1979, RSA/MET/T/13.1/01-79, pp. 1-32, April 1979.
8 Sehra, P.S., et. al., Satellite Observations for the Middle Atmosphere Program (MAP) : A Working Paper submitted to the Indian National Steering Committee on MAP, RSA/MET/T/13.1/02-79, pp. 1-20, April 1979.
9 Sehra, P.S., et. al., Wind Accuracy from Parachutes and Chaff, RSA/MET/T/04/SR-2, pp. 1-15, September 1979.
10 Sehra, P.S., A Brief Report on Visit to the Academy of Athens, Greece, and International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy, during 1979-1980.
11 Sehra, P.S., Stratospheric Layer Thicknesses from TIROS-N SSU Data, SAC/RSA/MET/018/80, pp. 1-25, October 1980.
12 Sehra, P.S., et. al., Supplementary Notes on Atmospheric Dynamics, for a talk on “Review of Lower Atmospheric Dynamisc” in the “National Workshop on Atmoshperic Studies using High Power VHF Radar” held at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad India, between February 2-4,1981, pp. 1-38, february 1981.
13 Sehra, P.S., Deputation Report on Visit to the International Centre for Theoretical Physcics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy, and Related visit to Sebha Deserts, Libya, to participate in the “Autumn Course on Physics of Flow in the Oceans, Atmosphere and Deserts, during September-December 1980, SAC/RSA/MET/TR-1/09/81, pp. 1-12, March 1981.
14 Sehra, P.S., et. al., Determination of Stratospheric Layer Thicknesses from SSU channels of NOAA-6 Satellite, MET/SN/19/81, pp. 1-17, November 1981.
15 Sehra, P.S., et. al., Stratospheric Constant Pressure Maps from TIROS-N SSU Data, Paper presented at the National Space Science Symposium, held at Bangalore, India from February 3-6, 1982, extended abstract pp. 1-2, February 1982.
16 Sehra, P.S., Determination of Stratospheric Constant Pressure Maps from NOAA-6 Satellite, An Extension of the Report MET/SN/19/81 in the form of Five Maps, pp. 1-6, March 1983.
17 Sehra, P.S., An Interhemispheric Comparison of Dynamical and Thermal Structures of the Terrestrial Atmosphere, Detailed Report based upon the Paper presented at the International Symposium on Middle Atmosphere Dynamics and Transport, held at the University of Illinois, Urbana, USA from July 28-August 1, 1980, An Extended Abstract of this Paper was published in the Handbook for MAP-Middle Atmosphere Program, Vol. 2, pp. 51-60. June 1981. The present Report is a detailed one, pp. 1-39, April 1984.
20.8 List of Some WMO/UN Scientific and Technical Reports Prepared By the Author during the Advanced WMO Training Programme in Harare, Zimbabwe
Author’s Name : Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra, Ph.D..
WMO/UN Expert
c/o United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), P.O. Box 4775, Harare, Zimbabwe.
1. First Trimestrial Progress Report of the Advanced WMO Training Programme in Harare, Zimbabwe, under the FINNIDA/SATCC/WMO Meteorology Project, March 1992.
2. Fist Semi-Annual Progress Report of the Advanced WMO Training Programme in Harare, Zimbabwe, under the FINNIDA/SATCC/WMO Meteorology Project, Report Reference No. WMO/PSS/SAPR/1/92, July 1992.
3. First Annual Progress Report of the WMO Training Programme in Harare, Zimbabwe, under the FINNIDA/SATCC/WMO Meteorology Project, including the First Trimestrial and the First Semi-Annual Reports supplemented by the next six-monthly Report, Reference No. WMO/PSS/ASPR/2/92, January 1993.
4. Regular Progress Report of the Advanced WMO Training Programme in Harare, Zimbabwe, under the FINNIDA/SATCC/WMO Meteorology Project, including the First Annual Progress Report supplemented by the next six-monthly Report, Reference No. WMO/PSS/RPR/3/93, July 1993.
5. FINNIDA/SATCC/WMO Meteorology Project in Harare : Status and Recommendations regarding the Advanced WMO Class-II/WMO Class-I Training Programme in progress as in Auust 1993, Report prepared and distributed in August 1993.
6. Proposal for Smooth and Successful Accomplishment of the Advanced WMO Training Programme in Harare, Zimbabwe, under the FINNIDA/SATCC/WMO Meteorology Project, including its Status as in October 1993, Report prepared and distributed in October 1993.
7. Present Status and Workplan as in mid-January 1994, and the Minimum Time Requirement for Smooth and Successful Accomplishment of the Advanced WMO Training Programme in Harare, Zimabawe, Report prepared and distributed in January 1994.
8. Final Progress Report of the Advanced WMO Training Programme in Harare, Zimbabwe, under the FINNIDA/SATCC/WMO Meteorology Project, including the Regular Progress Report No. WMO/PSS/RPR/3/93 of July 1993, and the other interim Progress Reports of August 1993, October 1993, And January 1994, supplemented by its Uptodate Report covering all the period from Novermber 1991 to March 1994, and from April 1994 to September 1994 for the Practical Part of the Advanced WMO Class-II/WMO Class-I Course as its Compulosry On-the-job Training, Report Reference No. WMO/PSS/FPR/1994, prepared and distributed in 1994.
9. World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Advanced Meteorological Training in Zimbabwe, FINNIDA/SATCC/WMO Meteorology Project, Zimbabwe; Project Accomplishment, Objectives, Findings, and Recommendations; Report Prepared for the Government of Zimbabwe by Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra, WMO Expert on behalf of the World Meteorological organization Project through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva, Switzerland, 1994, Report Reference No. WMO/PSS/TR/1994

Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's Brilliant Achievements

Work is worship is the motto of Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra's life and to motivate and inspire the people to achieve greater heights in their lives by honest means is a very important part of his duty.

He was recently invited as a Chief Guest at the Pushpa Gujaral Science City (PGSC), Kapurthala, Punjab, India, to deliver a special lecture on 'Antarctica - My Experiences' on the occasion of the World Earth Day celebrations on 22nd April 2009 there, which was highly appreciated by everyone. This lecture's related news can be referred to online as well as his short bio-data with Google search from the internet under the heading "Paramjit Singh Sehra" as Hero of Antarctica and the founder of the Indian Antarctic Programme, etc.

He has earned a unique historical distinction of being the first ever Indian to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent. He has worked in all the seven continents of the world including the hottest place at El-Zizia (58 degrees Centigrade temperature) in Libya and the coldest place at Vostok (-89.3 degrees Centigrade temperature) in Antarctica, and also as a Consultant in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the USA, and as an Expert in the United Nations Organization (UNO), etc., and yet he remains very simple, modest, honest, sincere, and down to earth.

Professor P. R. Pisharoty under whose guidance he has done his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics often used to say that he has one very important person as a reserve force with him, viz., his own student Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra, who can do anything in the world which others cannot do, by citing his example as the only person who volunteered to go to the harshest continent 'Antarctica' when no other Indian was willing to go there as it involved great dangers and risks to life, which made him a hero and also the founder of the Indian Antarctic Programme, etc., although he got no monetary benefit for his daring Antarctic feat.

Some more details about him are available from the internet with Google search under the headings "Parmjit Singh Sehra", "Paramjit Singh Sehra", "P. S. Sehra", and "Parmjit Singh Sehra & Antarctica", etc.

His name has recently appeared in the 'Encyclopedia of the Antarctic' on its page 529 and 'Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia' as the first ever Indian to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent, which can be referred to online under the heading "Paramjit Singh Sehra" with some cross references through its search window for all results under the heading "Parmjit Singh Sehra" in the 'Encyclopedia of the Antarctic'.

A brief news item has also recently appeared in the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE)'s special climate issue of their 'Down To Earth' Fortnightly journal dated December 1-15, 2008, in its news section on page 19 under the title 'Set up inland stations' in Antarctica, which can also be referred to online under the heading "Parmjit Singh Sehra".

Some lines from a recent 'Handbook on International Environmental Agreements: An Indian Perspective', published by the Centre for Environmental Law, Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, in November 2006, which can be downloaded from the internet with Google search under the heading 'Parmjit Singh Sehra & Antarctica' are quoted below:

It is 242 pages book, and his reference is given in its Chapter-8 on 'India in Antarctica', Section 8.8, page 157, which reads as follows:........'The first Indian with the Antarctic spirit and the unsung hero of India's Antarctic adventure was undoubtedly Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra. Dr. Sehra participated in the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition from 1971 to 1973 that led him to the distinction of being the first Indian to winter at the South Pole and circumnavigate Antarctica. For his accomplishment he was awarded the Soviet Antarctic Medal, Ribbon and a Polar Watch. His Expedition sparked interest back home in India for further exploration of the icy continent , including opening Indian Antarctic base in Antarctica'.......

He has also worked as a Consultant in Atmospheric Studies related to Climate Modelling at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), Goddard Space Flight Centre (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), New York, USA, with Prof. James E. Hansen, whose name often flashes on the TV channels in connection with Climate Change and Global Warming, etc., and whose research team's work had helped Mr. Al Gore, the former Vice President of the USA to win the Nobel Peace Prize recently.

He has discovered sudden stratospheric and mesospheric warmings and coolings in Antarctica first of all in the world, and his findings were published in the paper entitled 'Upper atmospheric thermal structure in Antarctica', Nature, Vol. 254, No. 5499, pp. 401-404, April 3, 1975, etc. This discovery was later claimed by some NASA/USA scientists in 2005, but the Editor of the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences in which their work was published has admitted this mistake and apologised. It will be hopefully resolved in due course of time.

Two more Antarctic papers 'First Indian at the South Pole' and 'Exploration of Antarctica' were also recently published in 'School Science' - Quarterly Journal of Science Education, Vol. 44, Nos. 2 & 3, June & September 2006, of the National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT), Government of India, which is circulated to all the Secondary Schools in India and abroad. This is done for giving inspiration to all the students and teachers from the school level itself because it is a historical achievement. These articles can be referred to online with Google sdearch under the name "P. S. Sehra".

He has also worked at the Department of Atmospheric Physics, Meteorology & Environment Science, Faculty of Science, Al-Fateh University, Tripoli, Libya for almost a decade during 1982-1991, and helped in establishing this new Department there. After that he joined the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in Geneva, Switzerland, as a WMO/UN Expert, and conducted an advanced WMO Training Programme at the Department of Meteorological Services in Harare, Zimbabwe. He has also earlier worked at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy, and at the Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics & Climatology in the Academy of Athens, Greece, etc.

On 7th June 2007, a foreign TV channel, viz., the 'Channel Punjab' made a special TV documentary film on 'Achievements and Accomplishments of Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra, the first ever Indian to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent' which was telecast in its 'Tadke Tadke/Morning' Programme all over the world on 30th June 2007 with repeated telecasts for about six times thereafter and in 2008 and 2009 also. According to the Director of this TV programme, they got lot of positive response to this special TV programme due to which they repeated its telecast several times.

Short biodata of Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra is given below:

Date and Place of Birth: 10th March 1947 at village and post office Bhana, via Dasuya -144205, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India.
Father's Name: Shri Mohinder Singh Sehra, Postmaster (Retired), phones 01886-260212, 01883-323886, Mobile 9463644861.
Grandfather's name: Late Shri Bir singh Sehra (who trained and motivated him a lot).
Mother's Name: Late Shrimati Satwinder Kaur, Former Panch & Sarpanch of our Bhana Village Panchayat for more than two decades.
Wife's Name:Dr. (Mrs.) Bhupinder Sehra, MBBS, MD, Consultant/Gynaecologist, S. Nihal Singh Pahwa Charitable Hospital, Industrial Area-B, Ludhiana-141003, Punjab, India.
Son's name: Er. Gaurav Singh Sehra, MEng in Civil Engineering & Construction Management ( Texas A & M University, College station, Texas, USA).
Daughter's Name: Dr. Pamela Sehra, BDS

Primary and Secondary education from our nearby village schools, viz., Government Primary School, Bhana - Mangarh, and Khalsa Higher Secondary School, Garhdiwala in District Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India.
B.Sc. in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and English from the D.A.V. College, Jalandhar, Panjab University, with top position, in 1967.
M.Sc. in Physics from the University of Allahabad, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India in first division and high rank, in 1969.
Ph.D. in Science (Applied/Space Physics - Atmospheric Physics & Environment Science) from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)/Gujarat University, Ahmedabad-380009, India, in 1977.

Won the highest National Science Talent Search Scholarship of the Department of Science Education, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Government of India, in 1964, which continued from the higher Secondary stage upto the completion of my Ph.D. degree.

Throughout first class academic career with high ranks, top positions, and Merit & National Scholarships in the Universities.

1969-1974/1977: Research Scientist, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad-380009, Gujarat, India.

1971-1973: Project Scientist, 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition, and the first ever Indian to winter over the South Pole and circumnavigate and explore the Antarctic continent, and the only Indian recipient of the prestigious Soviet Antarctic Medal, Ribbon & Polar Watch, which is a unique historical achievement.

1977: Awarded Ph.D. in Science (Applied/Space Physics - Atmospheric & Environmental Physics) by the Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India, for my Ph.D. thesis/research work entitled 'Atmospheric Structure: Exploration over Antarctica and Interhemispheric Comparison', carried out at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad-380009, Gujarat, India, under the guidance of Prof. P. R. Pisharoty, Prof. K. R. Ramanathan, Prof. Vikram A. Sarabhai, and Prof. Yash Pal.

1974-1982: Senior Scientist, Space Applications Centre (SAC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Department of Space (DOS), Government of India, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.

1978-1979: Consultant, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Centre (GSFC), Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), New York, USA.

1979-1980: Research Scientist, Academy of Athens, Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Athens, Greece.

1980-1981: Research Scientist, International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy.

1982-1991: Professor & Head, Department of Atmospheric Physics, Meteorology & Environment Science, Al-Fateh University, Tripoli, Libya. Established this new Department there as its founder.

1991-1994, and onwards: WMO/UN Expert in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), United Nations Organization (UNO), Geneva, Switzerland, for conducting an advanced WMO Training Programme at the Department of Meteorological Services in Harare, Zimbabwe, under the Finnish International Development Agency (FINIDA), the Southern African Transport and Communication Commission (SATCC), and the WMO/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Afterwards: Professor of Atmospheric Physics, Meteorology & Environment Science,
Department of Agricultural Meteorology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana-141004, Punjab, India, from where got recently retired on 31st March 2007.

2007 onwards: Professor & Head, Department of Physics, Lovely Professional University, Near Chaheru Railway Overbridge, Jalandhar-Ludhiana G.T. Road, Phagwara, Punjab, India.

2009: Principal, Indo Global College of Engineering (IGCE), Indo Global Education Foundation (IGEF), Abhipur-140109, District SAS Nagar, Mohali, Punjab, India.

Since long: Fellow, Royal Meteorological Society (F.R.Met.S.), Reading, Berkshire, UK. Member, American Meteorological Society (MAMS), Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Member, Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (MCMOS), Ottawa, Canada.
Member, New Zealand Antarctic Society (MNZAS), Christchurch, New Zealand.

Also awarded the prestigious Soviet Antarctic Award, Medal, Ribbon & Polar Watch, and the Government of India Antarctic Award and Certificate of Excellence, and the India International Friendship Society (IIFS) 's coveted Vijay Shree Award and Certificate of Excellence, etc.

Has published about 500 pure scientific & technical papers, and popular extension papers and reports in reputed international scientific journals, and magazines, such as Nature & JGR, etc., with several feature articles and radio/TV interviews.

Residential & mailing address:

Dr. Parmjit Singh Sehra (Ph.D.)
c/o Dr. (Mrs.) Bhupinder Sehra, MBBS, MD
Consultant/Gynaecologist
S. Nihal Singh Pahwa Charitable Hospital Campus
Industrial Area-B
Ludhiana-141003
Punjab, India.

phone: +91-161-2545945
e-mail: parmjitsinghsehra@hotmail.com