Chasing the monsoon, IMD in mission mode

With advancements in infrastructure and computing, it is equally important to continue to enhance satellite-based observations to improve weather and climate services

- P.S. Goel

In July 2006, when the ministry of earth sciences came into being, India became the first country to have such a ministry that was mandated to generate knowledge and provide services pertaining to the weather, climate, oceanic and coastal conditions, hydrology, seismology, natural hazards, marine living and non-living resources, and the Earth's poles (Arctic, Antarctic, and the Himalayas). The ministry was created by reorganising the department of ocean development through a Presidential notification.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), one of the oldest departments of the Government of India, was brought under the ministry of earth sciences in 2006. Set up in 1875 (mainly to understand the Indian monsoon) and headed by the Britishers until India's independence, IMD celebrated its 150th year on January 14, 2025. IMD remains the foremost institution touching the everyday lives of several Indians and impacting the lives and livelihoods of lakhs of farmers on an everyday basis.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, and the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Noida, set up in 1962 and 1988, respectively, to augment the scientific activities and services of IMD, are under the earth sciences ministry, 2006 onwards. IMD, IITM, and NCMRWF were formerly under the department of science and technology.