Delhi to upgrade weather forecast system amid climate change concerns

The national capital will establish 50 new automatic weather forecast centres, with potential expansion to 100

Delhi’s weather and rain forecast system is set to undergo significant upgrades, with plans for an additional 50 automated forecast centers, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said.

These developments come in response to the evolving impacts of climate change on seasonal weather patterns.

The minister made these remarks during a key meeting held in Delhi on July 8, attended by senior officials including Mrityunjay Mohapatra, Director-General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), along with representatives from the Ministry of Earth Sciences and IMD.
 

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Singh said, “IMD will undertake a massive countrywide upgradation in weather and rain forecast system, including in the national capital, to raise it to state-of-art world standards. This is aimed to ensure very specific, precise and time to time weather and rain forecasts to avoid inconvenience to common citizens, save man-days and reduce economic fallout...”

The minister announced plans to enhance infrastructure, including the installation of a 20 petaflops high-performance computing (HPC) system. Additionally, Delhi will establish 50 new automatic weather forecast centres (AWS), with potential expansion to 100.

Presently, there are 17 forecast centres operational in the state.

The government, in a statement, said, “The aim is to take the number of AWS to 100 and bring it on par with the world standards. These automatic weather forecasting systems provide very specific, precise and time-to-time forecasts.”

The National Capital Region (NCR) is set to receive three new radars and 180 automated weather forecasting systems, the minister said.

Mumbai already has two installed radars, with four additional ones planned. Chennai currently operates three radars, and Kolkata is slated to receive one more installation.

Singh said, “Not only in metro cities, this upgradation will continue in other cities as well, and also in cities that have a population of over one million. It will be replicated in tier towns and other remote areas.”

The minister said that the meteorological department is initiating a significant upgrade initiative, enhancing future-ready advanced weather prediction models supported by long-term average (LPA) data.

Talking about the advantages of updated space and geospatial policies, Singh said that these initiatives have notably boosted sectors such as fisheries by enhancing forecasting capabilities.

[With agency inputs]