METOC Seminar Meghayan 2024 organised on the theme ‘At the Frontline of Climate Action’
The World Meteorological Day is
commemorated every year on 23rd March. It marks the origin of World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) on 23 March 1950 and signifies the invaluable
contribution and essential role of the meteorologists in this field. As part of
the World Meteorological Day celebrations, a METOC (Meteorological and
Oceanographic) seminar Meghayan-24' was conducted by School of Naval
Oceanology & Meteorology (SNOM) and Indian Naval Meteorological Analysis
Centre (INMAC) at Southern Naval Command on 28 March 2024. The seminar was based on
the theme *'At the Frontline of Climate Action'* as promulgated by WMO for
the year 2024.
The
inaugural address was delivered by Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval
Staff through virtual mode. He highlighted the need for accurate and immediate
focus on the pressing challenge of climate change and to work together in the
collective pursuit of common goal of 'Achieving a Climate Smart Society' under
the global framework for climate services of WMO. He reiterated Indian Navy's
commitment to adopting long term sustainable policies to address the
environmental concerns and integrating climate change considerations in the
security strategy. While laying importance on reliable METOC support for safe
& optimal Naval operations, he complimented the dedicated efforts and
contributions of the Naval met specialists in this field providing crucial
support across all domains.
The
seminar witnessed presentations by guest speakers Dr. TVS Uday Bhaskar,
Scientist G, Indian Naval Centre for Ocean Information System (INCOIS),
Hyderabad and Dr Ragavendra Ashit, Scientist 'G', National Centre for Medium
Range Forecasting (NCMRWF), New Delhi. They enlightened the audience on the
latest techniques adopted by the scientific agencies and the climate data
crunching undertaken to help the policy makers in decision making at national
level. In addition, panel discussions were held on various topics of 'Effect of
Weather and Climate Change on Naval Operations' by the specialist officers
bringing out latest techniques adopted by the Indian Navy & Indian
scientific organisations in providing METOC inputs/forecasts for operational
evolutions.
On
this occasion an indigenous mobile application INDRA (Indian Naval Dynamic Resource for Weather
Analysis) to disseminate weather related information and forecasts empowering
optimal & quick decision making was also launched. The application has been
developed by BISAG (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications
and Geo-informatics) in coordination with Directorate of Naval Oceanology and
Meteorology, Indian Navy. The event was attended by Rear Admiral Upal Kundu,
Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command, Cmde Abhinav Barve, Commodore (NOM),
Naval Headquarters and Miren Karamta, Director, BISAG. The seminar served as a
platform towards sharing of knowledge & insights on weather and climate
services as well as way ahead to face the challenges of climate change.