IMD Is A Symbol Of India's Scientific Journey: PM Modi

The India Meteorological Department is "a symbol of India's scientific journey", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an event commemorating the Indian weather office's 150th anniversary during which he also launched Mission Mausam, a hi-tech effort aimed at making India "weather-ready and climate-smart".

- Jayashree Nandi

Modi spoke of the agency's accurate prediction — sunny but cold — influenced his decision to visit Sonamarg in Kashmir on January 13, and Celeste Saulo, secretary general, World Meteorological Organization who also participated in the event said accurate forecasts and warnings by IMD have saved countless lives not just in India but across the entire region.

"The progress of a country's scientific institutions reflects its awareness of science," said Modi, adding that IMD has served millions of Indians over a century and a half, becoming a symbol of India's scientific progress.

Over the past decade, he added, IMD's infrastructure and technology have seen unprecedented expansion, with significant increases in the number of Doppler weather radars, automatic weather stations, runway weather monitoring systems, and district-wise rainfall monitoring stations.

Meteorology in India benefits greatly from the country's strengths in space and digital technology, the Prime Minister explained. India has two meteorological observatories in Antarctica, named Maitri and Bharati, and last year, IMD inducted supercomputers Ark and Arunika, enhancing the reliability of the agency's forecasts, he said.