Context:
The Union Cabinet has approved ‘Mission Mausam’ with a budget allocation of ₹2,000 crore over two years.
More on the News:
- Recently, forecasting single-day rain events has become challenging, with outcomes often being more extreme or milder than predicted.
- At a national level, forecast accuracy for daily rainfall is 80% for the past 5 years and 60% for 5 days lead time forecast.
About the ‘Mission Mausam’
- Objectives: The initiative is aimed at improving India’s weather forecasting capabilities, by upgrading the weather monitoring infrastructure, investing in scientific research, and improving the skills of the scientists.
- It will help to better equip stakeholders, including citizens and last-mile users, in tackling extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change.
- An important task is to intensify the weather observation network in the country, not just over land, but also on sea and in the sky.
Enhancing Atmospheric Sciences and Forecasting Capabilities
- The mission will significantly expand research, development, and capacity in atmospheric sciences, including weather surveillance, modelling, forecasting, and management.
- It will integrate advanced observation systems, high-performance computing, and cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to provide highly accurate weather predictions.
Key Focus Areas
- The mission will enhance the delivery of precise and timely weather and climate information, including monsoon forecasts, air quality alerts, and warnings for extreme weather events such as cyclones.
- It also aims to improve weather interventions for managing fog, hail, and rain, along with capacity building and awareness generation.
- Critical components include deploying next-generation radars, satellite systems, and high-performance supercomputers, and developing Earth system models and a GIS-based automated Decision Support System for real-time data dissemination.
Benefits Across Multiple Sectors
- ‘Mission Mausam’ will benefit several sectors, including agriculture, disaster management, defense, environment, aviation, water resources, power, tourism, shipping, transport, energy, and health.
- It will enhance data-driven decision-making in urban planning, transport, offshore operations, and environmental monitoring.
Implementing bodies
- The mission will primarily be implemented by three institutes under the Ministry of Earth Sciences: the India Meteorological Department, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, and the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting.