India Meteorological Department(IMD) celebrates 145th Foundation Day

News:The Indian Meteorological Department(IMD) is celebrating its 145th Foundation day on 15th January,2020.

Facts:

About India Meteorological Department (IMD)

• India Meteorological Department (IMD) was established in 1875.It is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India.
• It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology.
• IMD is also one of the six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organization.

Mandate of IMD:

• To take meteorological observations and to provide current and forecast meteorological information for optimum operation of weather-sensitive activities like agriculture, irrigation, shipping among others.
• To warn against severe weather phenomena like tropical cyclones, norwesters, dust storms, heavy rains and snow, cold and heat waves, which cause destruction of life and property.
• To provide meteorological statistics required for agriculture, water resource management, industries, oil exploration and other nation-building activities.
• To conduct and promote research in meteorology and in various allied disciplines.
• To detect and locate earthquakes and to evaluate seismicity in different parts of the country for development projects.

Additional information:

Initiatives taken by IMD:

Abou Meghdoot:

• Meghdoot is a mobile app launched to assist farmers.It has been developed by the Indian Meteorological Department and Indian Institute of Tropical meteorology and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
• The app provides forecast relating to temperature, rainfall, humidity, and wind speed and direction which play critical roles in agricultural operations and advisories to the farmers on how to take care of their crops and livestock.
• It provides information in the form of images, maps and pictures to help the farmer to have a clearer picture of what is in store.

About SAMAR:

• The Indian Meteorological Department(IMD) had launched a System of Aerosol Monitoring and Research(SAMAR) in 2016.
• It helps the country in studying concentration of black carbon in the atmosphere due to air pollution and its impact on climate.
• It is equipped with many sophisticated equipments including 12 sky radiometers which studies aerosols different properties and determine how it impacts the climate over a longer period of time.