Mon Jan 13 09:01:08 UTC 2025: ## India Meteorological Department Celebrates 150 Years of Forecasting Excellence, Achieving Global Recognition

**NEW DELHI** – The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is celebrating its 150th anniversary, marking a remarkable journey from a nascent organization with just a few rain gauges to a globally recognized leader in weather forecasting. Established in 1875 in the wake of devastating cyclones and monsoon failures, the IMD has consistently evolved its capabilities, leveraging cutting-edge technology to provide increasingly accurate and timely weather predictions.

The IMD’s progress is striking. Its current infrastructure boasts 39 Doppler Weather Radars, INSAT 3D/3DR satellites providing 15-minute cloud updates, and a vast network of weather monitoring stations. Significant advancements include the implementation of rapid severe weather assessments, 6-minute cyclone scans, and upgraded satellite systems. These improvements have resulted in a 50% increase in severe weather forecast accuracy since 2014, leading to substantial reductions in loss of life and property damage.

The accuracy of the IMD’s forecasts has dramatically improved. Five-day forecasts now match the accuracy of one-day forecasts from 2017, and cyclone landfall predictions are exceptionally precise, with minimal error. Accuracy rates stand at 80% for 24-hour heavy rainfall forecasts, 86% for thunderstorms, and 88% for heat and cold waves. This information is readily available to the public through user-friendly mobile applications like ‘Mausam’.

Despite the complexities of India’s tropical weather patterns – characterized by extreme variations – the IMD ranks among the top three weather agencies globally, alongside the US National Weather Service and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The IMD’s Director General, Mrutyunjaya Mohapatra, highlighted the significant improvement in cyclone forecasting accuracy, surpassing even that of the US National Hurricane Center.

The IMD’s influence extends beyond India’s borders, providing cyclone forecasts and warnings to 13 North Indian Ocean countries and weather services to SAARC nations. It is actively assisting neighboring countries in developing early warning systems.

Looking to the future, the IMD has launched ‘Mission Mausam,’ an ambitious initiative to further enhance weather understanding and forecasting through expanded observation networks, advanced modelling, and the integration of AI and machine learning. This includes plans to significantly increase the number of radars and satellites, and establish a cloud seeding laboratory. The ultimate goal, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary M Ravichandran, is to transition from simply predicting weather to actively managing it, ensuring India’s preparedness for the challenges of a changing climate.

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