Bharat Forecast System (BFS)

Context

India is poised to become the first nation to operationalize a fully indigenous high-resolution global weather forecasting system—Bharat Forecast System (BFS)—developed by IITM, Pune. Operating at a 6-km resolution, BFS enhances prediction accuracy for cyclones, extreme rainfall, and localized disasters, surpassing the existing 12-km model. The system will be formally launched on May 26, 2025.

Bharat Forecast System (BFS):

It is developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.
It operates at a 6-kilometre resolution globally (particularly across the tropical belt: 30°N to 30°S).
It is known also as the High-Resolution Global Forecast Model (HGFM).
It marks India’s self-reliance in numerical weather prediction, with no foreign dependency.
It will replace the current 12-km GFS model used by India.

Features and Benefits:

It enhances prediction of cyclone tracks, landfall intensity, extreme rainfall, and weather extremes.
It is capable of providing sub-block level forecasts, which are useful for localised disaster response.
It open-access system—freely available to researchers and global meteorological institutions.
It is built using scientific capacity entirely within India, with informal collaboration with ECMWF.

Institutional Involvement:

It is developed by IITM, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
It is supported by India Meteorological Department (IMD) for integration into operational forecasting.