 "Mrutyunjay Mohapatra")
In a significant expansion of its coverage, the India Meteorological Department will provide panchayat-level weather forecast from next week, particularly to help small farmers plan farming better and cut down climate-induced losses, its chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said on Thursday.
The weather office will also launch the 'Har Har Mausam, Har Ghar Mausam' initiative and the National Framework for Climate Services on Monday when it kicks off year-long celebrations to mark its 150th anniversary.
India's technological prowess has made it possible for the IMD to take its forecasting capability from the block to panchayat level, Mohapatra told PTI in an interview.
The aim is to connect with at least five farmers in every village across the country through the "Panchayat Mausam Seva" and provide them with all weather parameters such as maximum and minimum temperatures, humidity and wind speed, in addition to severe weather warnings.
This information will be available in 12 Indian languages, besides English and Hindi, he said, adding that it was the endeavour of the IMD to mainstream use of weather and climate information as part of everyday activity.
"The IMD is currently helping disseminate agriculture-related weather observations and forecasts at the block level. Now, we are moving a step further and reaching the panchayat level," Mohapatra said, adding that panchayat secretaries, panchayat sarpanches, ward members were being roped in for the purpose.
He said the IMD started nowcast – or severe weather warning for thunderstorms – for 120 cities in 2013. "By now, we have nowcast for all types of severe weather for all districts across the country and also 1,200 cities and towns," Mohapatra said.
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"The plan is to have weather forecast wherever you want, i.e. Har Har Mausam, Har Ghar Mausam. Any individual in any corner of the country can access information through mobile app for the next seven days and also for the next few hours," he said.
"One can write the name of the place or provide the pincode of the area or they can give latitude and longitude of the place and the forecast will be provided in a seamless manner. All weather parameters such as maximum and minimum temperatures, humidity, wind speed will be covered. It will also provide severe weather warnings," Mohapatra said.
The weather office considers it a priority to minimize the losses of small farmers dependent on agriculture in rainfed areas.
Citing an independent study, Mohapatra said a small farmer in rainfed areas stands to gain Rs 12,500 if he utilises the weather forecast and acts accordingly.
"We have reached three crore farmers, and the benefit adds up to a massive Rs 13,300 crore. Imagine the GDP gain if we could reach all the 10 crore farmers in the country," he said.
"India's technological capability has increased over the years. We have new models that were not available in the past. There has been tremendous improvement in terms of modelling and forecasting capabilities, observations, communication, and warning dissemination," he said.
Mohapatra said the IMD now has access to data from automatic weather stations, satellites, radars, and collaboration with state governments for utilising their observation networks for forecasting.
The weather office is equipped with 39 doppler weather radars, more than 1,000 automatic weather stations, more than 6,000 automatic rain gauges, and many other dedicated observational platforms.
He said the IMD will launch the "National Framework for Climate Services" with the objective of providing climate information and services to all sectors, including agriculture, energy, disaster management, power, transport, health, and water, to help them make informed decisions and mitigate climate risks.
Mohapatra said the IMD, through its weather forecasts, has been able to minimize losses in sectors such as power, health, transport, and agriculture.
"There are certain sectors such as sports and industry which have not been utilising the IMD's information to the required extent. The use of weather and climate information needs to be mainstreamed in each and every activity," he said.
"We want people to utilise weather and climatic information before starting construction work or even for weddings," he said.
Mohapatra said the weather office was increasing the number of radars, automatic weather stations, and rain gauges and collaborating with state governments and agencies like the National Disaster Management Authority to improve its observation network.
"The number of radars will increase from 39 at present to 86 in the next five years," Mohapatra said.
He said the Ministry of Earth Sciences was also upgrading the high productivity computing systems to run weather forecasting models faster.
India plans to unveil an 18 petaflops supercomputer for weather forecasting at its institutes soon.
The National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting houses 'Mihir', a 2.8 petaflop supercomputer, while the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune is home to 'Pratyush', a 4.0 petaflop supercomputer.
