IMD Conducts Pre Cyclone Exercise for April June 2024 Season
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) conducts Pre-Cyclone Exercise for the season April-June 2024
“India has one of the best early warning system and weather forecasting models” says DG IMD
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has successfully conducted a Pre-Cyclone Exercise for the forthcoming season from April to June 2024, under the leadership of Director General IMD, Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra. This strategic session, held in a hybrid format at Mausam Bhavan, New Delhi, is part of the biennial activities aimed at assessing the preparedness of various stakeholders in disaster management.
During the exercise, Dr. Mohapatra remarked on India's exceptional early warning system and weather forecasting capabilities, acknowledging the significant strides made in cyclone forecasting and the instrumental cooperation from entities like the National Disaster Management Authority, National Disaster Response Force, and the Indian Armed Forces.
A highlight of the exercise was the introduction of an indigenous ‘Decision Support System’ by IMD, boasting a remarkable increase in accuracy exceeding 50% compared to predictions from the past decade. Furthermore, Dr. Mohapatra shared insights into the deployment of a Multimodal Ensemble System for continuous weather monitoring and the issuance of location-specific advisories. He also emphasized the development of various mobile apps by IMD to disseminate warnings efficiently.
An important milestone discussed was the zero casualty achievement during cyclone Biparjoy, underscoring the effective preparedness and response mechanisms in place.
The National Disaster Management Authority has also developed a Web-based Dynamic Composite Risk Atlas (Web-DCRA) under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) to enhance location-specific forecasting capabilities, making these resources accessible to district disaster managers.
As IMD commemorates its 150th anniversary, Dr. Mohapatra expressed confidence in the department's readiness to advance further, aiming to provide weather information to every household with the mantra "HAR HAR MAUSAM and HAR GHAR MAUSAM." This vision is supported by state-of-the-art technology, partnerships with academia, R&D institutes, public-private collaborations, and stakeholder engagement.
The exercise saw participation from various disaster management agencies and representatives from all coastal states and union territories. Senior officials from the Director General Shipping, Director General of Lighthouses and Lightships, National Hydrographic Office, Airport Authority of India, Port Authority, and ministries such as Petroleum and Natural Gas, Defence, Fisheries, and Rural Development were also in attendance.