The National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS)

India is embarking on a major programme to launch its maiden national-level framework towards providing climate services and information.

• The framework envisions to bring a seamless working platform for users of climate information and services, and help decide and mitigate climate risks for key sectors — agriculture, energy, disaster management, health and water.
• It is based on the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), which is a partnership of governments and organisations at a global level, for the production and better usage of climate information and services.
• The GFCS aims to facilitate researchers and users of climate information and services to join hands in order to make informed and actionable decisions for the long-term betterment.
• Functions:
  • The national framework will be based on country-specific weather and stakeholder needs.
  • The nodal agency for the formulation and implementation of the national framework in India will be the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
  • Along with the identified sectors of focus, India could add other relevant sectors like transport, tourism and other emerging sectors from time to time.
  • The NFCS will work in bridging functioning gaps between the various agencies who require climate services. These include the hydrological, power, renewable energy, transport, dams and  irrigation, health agencies are central, state and other levels.

Need of such a framework:

• There is a need to have a complete composite of climatological information of all the weather parameters, in order to make climate predictions.
• There is a need to integrate the weather and climate services.

Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS):

• The announcement to establish a GFCS was made during the third World Climate Conference held in Geneva in 2009.
• GFCS envisages to generate high-quality data from national and international databases on temperature, rainfall, wind, soil moisture and ocean conditions and other vital weather parameters.
• This is aimed at creating long-term historical averages of these parameters, as well as maps, risk and vulnerability analyses, assessments and long-term projections and scenarios.
• This framework, led by National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) in their respective nations, includes active participation of policymakers, planners, investors and vulnerable communities or sectors, as they need climate information and services in a user-friendly format, so that they can prepare for expected trends and changes in the long run.
• The five major components under GFCS are Observations and Monitoring, Research, Modelling and Prediction, Climate Services Information System, User Interface Platform and Capacity Building.
• At present, the priority sectors where the GFCS focuses upon are agriculture and food security, energy, health, water and disaster risk reduction.

Indian Meteorological department (IMD):

• IMD was established in 1875.
• It is the National Meteorological Service of the country and the principal government agency in all matters relating to meteorology and allied subjects.

• The Director General of Meteorology is the Head of the India Meteorological Department.
• There are 6 Regional Meteorological Centres, each under a Deputy Director General with headquarters at Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, Calcutta, Nagpur and Guwahati.
• Its headquarter is in New Delhi.
• At present IMD is under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).