Cabinet approves Rs 2,000 cr 'Mission Mausam' to boost weather forecasts

By integrating cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, "Mission Mausam" will set a new benchmark for predicting weather

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved "Mission Mausam" on Wednesday to enhance India's ability to predict and respond to extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change.

The mission, with a budget of Rs 2,000 crore over two years, will be primarily implemented by three key institutions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) -- the India Meteorological Department, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting.

These will be supported by other MoES bodies, such as the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research and the National Institute of Ocean Technology.

The mission will focus on improving observations and understanding to deliver highly-accurate and timely weather and climate information across temporal and spatial scales. This includes information on monsoon, air quality, extreme weather events, cyclones and weather interventions for managing fog, hail and rain.

Critical elements of "Mission Mausam" include the deployment of next-generation radars and satellite systems with advanced sensors, high-performance supercomputers, the development of enhanced Earth system models and a GIS-based automated decision support system for real-time data sharing, the Union Cabinet said in a statement.

The mission will benefit multiple sectors, including agriculture, disaster management, defence, aviation, energy, water resources and tourism. It will also improve decision-making in areas like urban planning, transportation and environmental monitoring.

The multi-faceted and transformative initiative will "tremendously boost India's weather and climate-related science, research and services", the Union Cabinet said.

It will equip stakeholders, including citizens and last-mile users, to better tackle extreme weather events and climate-change impacts. The programme will help broaden capacity and resilience across communities, sectors and ecosystems in the long run, it said.

As part of "Mission Mausam", India will exponentially expand research and development, and capacity in atmospheric sciences, especially weather surveillance, modelling, forecasting and management.

By integrating advanced observation systems, high-performance computing and cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, "Mission Mausam" will set a new benchmark for predicting weather with high precision, the statement said.