The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay is organising an Institute Colloquium on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.

The details of the lecture are provided below:
 
Title: "Evolution of weather forecasting services in India during the past 150 years"
 
Speaker: Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology, India Meteorological Department, Government of India, Permanent Representative of India to World Meteorological Organization and Third Vice President of World Meteorological Organization.

Abstract:
Weather forecasting in India has undergone several phases of evolution and has been a testament of progress, glory and service to the nation since 1875 with establishment of India Meteorological Department (IMD). It demonstrated continuity from ancient knowledge to the modern knowledge. As the years passed on, IMD’s commitment to observing and forecasting weather became a tale of innovation in science and technology for the society. Starting from a simple India Hut in 1793 for measurement of temperature, we now have a network of 40 radars, satellite images and products every 15 minutes, more than 1500 automatic weather stations, more than 6000 rainfall monitoring stations, 56 upper air monitoring stations, radiation observatories, specific observatories with respect to aviation, navigation, renewable energy, agriculture, environment, air quality and many more for round the clock monitoring of weather. From daily exchange of observation in 1876 by post, today we utilise all the latest information and communication technology including satellite based communication, social media, crowd sourcing, mobile apps, automatic programme interface etc for exchanging data and disseminating information to the public. Beginning with simple persistence based forecast, we now have a seamless modelling system from nowcasting i.e. forecast for a few hours to seasonal forecasting. Commencing from Port Warning in 1865, the climate service commenced in 1908, aviation meteorological service in 1911, ozone monitoring in 1928, agrometeorological service in 1945, positional astronomy in 1955, marine & flood meteorological service in 1966, storm surge warning in 1977, Antarctica expedition in 1982, mountain weather service in 1998, Digitisation & automation in 2006, coastal inundation modelling in 2013, air quality forecast in 2018, impact based forecasting in 2019, urban meteorological services in 2020, GIS based applications in 2020 and many more. IMD in collaboration with its sister organisations in MoES, R&D institutes & Central & state stakeholders demonstrates its capability in improving national economy and helping to minimize loss of life and property through improvement in weather monitoring and forecasting. The forecasting accuracy improved by about 40-50% in recent decade compared to previous one. There is almost zero error in landfall prediction of cyclones well in advance to ensure zero casualty and similar success stories in case of heat/cold waves and heavy rainfall events. Still there are challenges with respect to small scale severe weather hazards like cloud burst and lightning and mainstreaming the climate information to ensure “Weather Ready & Climate Smart” Nation. IMD aims at addressing all these in a collaborative approach with academia, R&D institutes, public private partnerships and stakeholder engagement in a mission mode such as Mission Mausam, Har Har Mausam, Har Ghar Mausam through Mausam Gram taken up in 2024. IMD would continue to scale new heights in this Amrit Kaal to ensure disaster resilient society through household information on weather and climate as per the individual’s need.

About the Speaker:
Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra is the Director General of Meteorology, India Meteorological Department and 3rd Vice President of World Meteorological Organization. With a Doctoral Degree in Physics and more than 30 years of experience in meteorology, he has made significant contributions in the improvement of early warning services of IMD, especially with respect to cyclones and impact-based forecasting. He brought laurels from various international and national agencies to the country and is popularly known as “The Cyclone Man of India”. His important scientific contributions included (i) End to End Cyclone Warning System, (ii) the introduction of impact-based forecasting and risk-based warnings, (iii) the indigenous development of a Decision Support System (DSS) for multi-hazard early warning system, (iv) Mausam Gram (location specific forecasts for any location and at any time (Har Har Mausam Har Ghar Mausam), (v) implementation of Common Alert Protocol for warning dissemination, (vi) augmentation of weather and climate services for social welfare with a focus on Urban, Power, Health, Hydrology, Environment, Agriculture, Transport (Aviation, Navigation and Surface transport) and Tourism (UPHHEATT). He Led key initiatives, including IMD’s Modernisation Programme for Weather Forecasting (2007-12), WMO’s Severe Weather Forecasting Programme for South Asia in 2016, the South Asia Flash Flood Guidance System in 2021 and Mission Mausam since 2024.He is author of more than 160 research papers in national/international journals and has edited 3 books & 8 Journals. He is the Chairman and President of various International and National Committees including (i) (i)Secretary, WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones, (ii)Chairman of WMO’s Task Team for Elections and Appointments, (iii) Co-Chair of WMO-International Oceanographic Commission Collaborative Board (JCB), (iv) Chairman, WMO Task Team for Coordination of activities in Regional Association II(Asia), (v) Chairman, Executive Council, South Asia Hydrometeorological Forum, (vi) Chairman/expert of International Committee of WMO for selection of Väisälä Award, Young Scientist Award and International Meteorological Organisation (IMO) Prize, (vii) Chairman, WMO’s Regional Sub-project Management Team of Severe Weather Forecast Programme for South Asia, (viii) Rapporteur of WMO/ESCAP member countries for the preparation of tropical cyclone names, (ix) Chairman of Task Team to suggest meteorological payloads for INSAT-4 series of satellites. He is the recipient of various awards and recognitions from different agencies for bringing out paradigm shifts in weather forecasting and cyclone warning services including an Honorary D.Sc. from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), FM University, Balasore, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Maharaja Chhatrasal University Bundelkhand, Utkal University, Fellow of Indian Meteorological Society. 25th and 31st Biennial Mausam Award for best research papers in Mausam, Bharat Gaurav Award, Pride of India Award, Vyasa Gourab Samman, Most Inspirational Personality Award, Prananath Samman, Ekamra Shree Award, American Meteorological Society Award for exceptional leadership and services in enhancing tropical cyclone prediction and warning systems in the Indian Ocean region.

Speaker's webpage:  https://mausam.imd.gov.in/imd_latest/contents/dgm.php