Cabinet approves Continuation of the umbrella scheme “Atmosphere’ & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS)” from the 14th Finance Commission to the next Finance Commission Cycle (2021-2026)

What is the News?

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the continuation of the umbrella scheme “Atmosphere & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS)”.

What is the ACROSS Scheme?

The ACROSS scheme pertains to the atmospheric science programs of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

The scheme addresses different aspects of weather and climate services which includes warnings for cyclones, storm surges, heatwaves, thunderstorms among others.

Sub Schemes under ACROSS

There are eight sub-schemes under ACROSS: 1) Commissioning of Polarimetric Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs) 2) Upgradation of Forecast System 3) Weather & Climate Services 4) Atmospheric Observations Network-IMD 5) Numerical Modelling of Weather and Climate  6) Monsoon Mission III 7) Monsoon Convection, Clouds and Climate Change(MC4) and 8) High-Performance Computing System (HPCS).

Implementation of Scheme

The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences(MoES) through its units namely the India Meteorological Department (IMD), National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF); Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).

Each institute has a designated role for accomplishing the tasks through the aid of eight sub-schemes.

Impact of this Scheme

The scheme will provide improved weather, climate, ocean forecast and services, and other hazard-related services thereby ensuring transfer of commensurate benefits to the end-user.

Source: This post is based on the article “Cabinet approves Continuation of the umbrella scheme Atmosphere & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS)” published in Livemint on 23rd Nov 2021.