India Meteorological Department (IMD) and its future vision

News: Recently, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) marked its 150th anniversary.

About India Meteorological Department (IMD)

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) was established in 1875.
• It is the principal agency for meteorological observations, weather forecasting, and seismology in India.
• Headquarters: New Delhi,
• IMD operates under the Ministry of Earth Sciences and plays a vital role in monitoring and predicting weather phenomena to safeguard lives, infrastructure, and the economy.

Key Functions

• Weather Forecasting:
  • Provides forecasts for various durations: short-range, medium-range, and long-range.
  • Special focus on severe weather events such as cyclones, thunderstorms, and heatwaves.
• Agricultural Services: Disseminates Agro-Meteorological advisories to farmers, enhancing crop productivity and reducing risks.
• Aviation Meteorology: Supplies weather information for safe and efficient air navigation.
• Disaster Management: Issues warnings for cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other extreme events to minimize loss of life and property.
• Seismology: Monitors seismic activity across the country and provides earthquake-related data.

IMD’s Future Vision

• IMD’s Vision Document 2047 gives a roadmap to make India climate-smart and weather-ready by 2047, with clear goals for two, five, 10, and 22 years.
• Key targets:
  • Zero-error forecasting for severe weather events up to three days in advance.
  • Achieve 90% accuracy for five-day forecasts and 80% accuracy for week-long forecasts.
• Resolution enhancement of weather models from 12 km to 5-6 km for hyper-localised forecasts at the village panchayat level.
• Reduce human casualties due to severe weather events to zero by 2047.

Future Plans for Observational Infrastructure

• Establish a 100 km x 100 km grid for round-the-clock upper atmosphere monitoring using satellites, radars, and aircraft-based profilers.
• Introduction of:
  • Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for remote observations.
  • Fully automated weather stations and IoT-based sensors in remote locations.
  • Regional climate reference stations and smaller meteorological centers.