Supercomputers to give IMD a boost

Meteorological department's computing capacity to jump more than sixfold

India’s ability to predict the sort of devastating deluge that struck Mumbai last week is set to get a major boost next year. The heaviest rainfall since 2005 killed a dozen people in the country’s financial capital, disrupted stock and bond trading and halted a suburban train network that carries about eight million people a day. Local residents and civic authorities struggled to cope as most roads were submerged and commuters waded through waist-deep flood water.

While the India Meteorological Department (IMD) accurately predicted the heavy rain for the broader Mumbai region and its sprawling suburbs, its capacity to forecast rain