India Meteorological Department

India Meteorological Department was established in 1875. It is the National Meteorological Service of the country and the principal government agency in all matters relating to meteorology and allied subjects.

It is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. IMD is also one of the six Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organization.

The Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) of Tropical Cyclones in New Delhi is responsible for naming the cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean region.

Mandate

• To take meteorological observations and to provide current and forecast meteorological information for optimum operation of weather-sensitive activities like agriculture, irrigation, shipping, aviation, offshore oil explorations, etc.
• To warn against severe weather phenomena like tropical cyclones, norwesters, duststorms, heavy rains and snow, cold and heat waves, etc., which cause destruction of life and property.
• To provide meteorological statistics required for agriculture, water resource management, industries, oil exploration and other nation-building activities.
• To conduct and promote research in meteorology and allied disciplines.

Functions of IMD:

• Observations: It conducts a series of surface and glacial observatories, Upper Air altitude observations, and ozone and radiation observations.
• Processing Satellite data: It also processes data received from India’s constellation of satellites, such as Kalpana-1, Megha-Tropiques , and instruments on board the IRS and the INSAT series of satellites.
• Collaboration: It collaborates with agencies such as the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting , and the National Institute of Ocean Technology for advanced prediction.
• Seismic Observations: It is also responsible for setting up monitoring centres at key locations for earthquake monitoring and measurements.
• Cyclone forecasting and Naming: It is the regional nodal agency for forecasting, naming, and providing warnings about tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean north of the Equator.
• Meteorological Statistics: It provides meteorological statistics for agriculture, water resource management, industries, oil exploration, and other nation-building activities.

Significance of IMD

• Support Farming Community: It provides direct support to the farming community in India by predicting monsoons, duration, and intensity of rainfall, and also the likely effect of rainfall.
• Disaster Management: By predicting rainfall, cyclones, heat waves, and cold waves, the IMD helps in disaster prediction and management.
• Accurate Weather: The predictions made by IMD using advanced instruments help in making accurate weather predictions in the country.
• Study Climate Change: It also carries out a study of changing weather patterns to understand the effects of climate change on India.