Fact Box:
What is IMD (India Meteorological Department)?
- The India Meteorological Department (IMD), established in 1875, is the national meteorological agency of India under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
- It provides essential weather, climate, and disaster management services across the country.
- IMD plays a pivotal role in safeguarding lives, supporting economic development, and advancing scientific research, particularly in meteorology, seismology, and allied fields.
- Over its 150-year history, IMD has become a cornerstone of India’s disaster management, agriculture, aviation, and public safety infrastructure.
- Key Achievements and Advancements
- Pioneering Weather Observations: IMD replaced all mercury barometers with digital barometers at Class I observatories by 2023 in line with the UNEP Minamata Convention. The department deployed 200 Agro Automated Weather Stations (AGRO AWS) to enhance agro-meteorological services.
- Crowdsourcing and Communication:
- Launched a crowdsourcing web interface in 2021 to collect weather data and associated impacts such as rainfall, hail, dust storms, wind speed, thunderstorms, lightning, and fog.
- The “Public Observation” mobile app, launched in January 2022, enables users to report weather observations in real-time.
- Advances in Numerical Weather Prediction: Improved forecast accuracy by 40% from 2014 to 2023. It expanded the Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) network from 15 in 2014 to 39 in 2023, covering 35% more land area.
- Technological Advancements: It developed the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model for nowcasting rainfall and reflectivity forecasts. It introduced the Mausamgram tool, an interactive and dynamic meteogram providing location-specific weather forecast information, on January 15, 2024.
- The department has also developed Automatic Weather Stations, Doppler Weather Radars, and Impact-Based Forecasts under the "Make in India" initiative.
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