IMD turns 150: More Doppler radars, supercomputers planned for further precision in weather prediction

New Delhi: With the India Meteorological Department turning 150, the Union government plans to augment the weather bureau’s instrumentation network including installation of more Doppler radar and having top quality supercomputers for better prediction of small scale severe weather events like cloudbursts and giving state-specific monsoon forecasts.

"Everything depends on observations. The more observation capacity we have, the better will be our forecasting capacity," Kiren Rijuju, the Union Minister for Earth Sciences said here on Monday at an event to mark the IMD’s 150 years.

The number of Doppler radars in the country has increased from 15 in 2014 to 39 in 2023, and additional 25 radars will be added in the next 2-3 years, of which 11 will be in the eastern Himalayas.

Rijuju said the total number of radars in the country would go up to 86 in the next five years so that events like cloudbursts will be predicted with sufficient lead time. The Union Cabinet has recently approved Rs 4,797 crore Mission Prithvi that will be used to augment the observation network.

Since the 1999 Odisha super-cyclone, the IMD’s has improved its instrumentation network across the country, vastly improving its cyclone forecast and predicting local weather phenomenon.

The number of rainfall monitoring stations have increased from 3,955 in 2014 to 6,095 in 2023 whereas upper air stations have increased from 43 to 56 in the same period. The number of high wind speed recorders increased from 19 in 2014 to 35 in 2023.

While IMD’s forecast accuracy improved by 40% in the last five years as compared to the preceding five years, the minister said procurement of high-power computing systems would enable the IMD to run higher-resolution models, enhancing the ability to detect and predict all small-scale events in the future and reduce deaths due to extreme weather events.

More than 2,000 people died last year in such extreme events like thunderstorms and lightning, flood and heatwaves.

The super-computers, according to meteorologists, will also help in providing monsoon forecasts for individual states or even at the district level. Currently such forecasts are restricted to four broad homogeneous regions – northwest, northeast, central and southern peninsular India.

"Today we mark 150 years of the India Meteorological Department's exceptional service to our nation. From pioneering weather forecasting to advancing climate research, IMD has been instrumental in safeguarding lives and enhancing our understanding of the environment," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a social media post.

The idea of having a dedicated meteorological service for India came into being in 1857 – the same year that witnessed the Sepoy Mutiny – when the Asiatic Society of Bengal made a representation to the Governor General in 1857. After nearly two decades, the IMD was established in 1875 with HF Blanford as Meteorological Reporter.