Regional meteorological centre New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Nagpur,Pune

SAM HIGGINBOTTOM UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE,
TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCES
Project
ENVS 716: AGROMETEOROLOGY & CROP WEATHER
FORECASTING
TOPIC NAME: REGIONAL METEOROLOGICAL CENTRE
SUBMITTED TO:
Dr. SHWETA GAUTAM
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
ENVS 716
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Submitted by:
NAME PID No.
VIKRAM SINGH 19MSAGRO056
RATIKANTA SAHOO 19MSAGRO057
MUTHA SRAVYA 19MSAGRO058
SHAIK SAMEER 19MSAGRO059
SAHIL LEDHAN 19MSAGRO060
B.V. PAVITRA 19MSAGRO064
N. SAI. SUCHITHA 19MSAGRO065
ABHISHEK KHAMARI 19MSAGRO066
KARISHMA SINGH 19MSAGRO068
SUMAN KUMAR DEY 19MSAGRO070

INDEX
Sr. No. Content Page number
1. Introduction 3
2. New innovatives in foreasting weather 14
3. Regional Meteorological Center, Guwahati 23
4. Regional Meteorological Center, New Delhi 30
5. Regional Meteorological Centre Nagpur 35
6. Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai 38
7. Meteorological Center, Ahmedabad 41
8. Meteorological Centre In Chennai 42
9. Regional Meterological Centre- Kolkata 48
10. Conclusion 51

REGIONAL METEOROLOGICAL CENTRES
1. Introduction:
A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (also Regional Specialized
Meteorological Center and Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre; RSMC) is responsible
for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they
have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as part of
the World Weather Watch.
IMD has six Regional Meteorological Centres, each under a Deputy Director General.
These are located in Chennai, Guwahati, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi. There
are also Meteorological Centres in every
state capital. Other IMD units such as
Forecasting Offices, Agrometeorological
Advisory Service Centers, Hydro-
meteorological Office, Flood
Meteorological Offices, Area Cyclone
Warning Centers and Cyclone Warning
Centers are usually co-located with
various observatories or meteorological
center.
IMD operates a network of
hundreds of surface and glacial
observatories, Upper Air (high altitude)
stations, ozone and radiation
observatories and meteorological
radar stations. Additional data is received
from India's constellation of satellites,
such as Kalpana-1, Megha-
Tropiques and instruments on board the
IRS series and the INSAT series of satellites. Data and observations are also reported into the
IMD network from meteorological instruments on board Indian merchant marine and Indian
Navy ships. IMD was the first organisation in India to deploy a message switching computer for
supporting its global data exchange.
IMD collaborates with other agencies such as the Indian Institute of Tropical
Meteorology, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting and the National Institute
of Ocean Technology.
Fig 1 Regional Meteorological Centres

IMD also operates seismic monitoring centers at key locations for earthquake monitoring and
measurements. The new public website of IMD is https://mausam.imd.gov.in/.
1.1 Historical Perspective of RSMC:
The loss of life, property and human suffering caused by tropical cyclones in coastal
areas in various parts of the globe are well known. These disasters are, on occasion, particularly
severe in the Bay of Bengal region. The northern part of the Bay of Bengal is known for its
potential to generate dangerous high storm tides, a major killer when associated with cyclonic
storms.
In the past, out of 10 recorded cases of very heavy loss of life (ranging from about
40,000 to well over 200,000) in the world due to tropical cyclones, 9 cases were in the Bay of
Bengal and the Arabian Sea (5 in Bangladesh and 3 in India and 1 in Myanmar). The world's
highest recorded storm tide of 45 feet occurred in this region (1876, Bakherganj cyclone near
Meghna Estuary, Bangladesh). These facts amply illustrate the importance of an efficient
cyclone warning service in this region.
Recognizing the above facts, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) jointly established the
Panel on Tropical Cyclones in 1972 as an intergovernmental body. Its membership comprises
countries affected by tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Originally, its
member countries were Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Later
Maldives joined this Panel in 1982 followed by Sultanate of Oman in 1997.
The Panel is one of the five regional tropical cyclone bodies established as part of the
WMO Tropical Cyclone Programme (TCP) which aims at promoting and coordinating the
planning and implementation of measures to mitigate tropical cyclone disasters on a worldwide
basis. The main objective of the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones is to promote
measures to improve tropical cyclone warning systems in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian
Sea. The basic purpose of the operational plan is to facilitate the most effective tropical cyclone
warning system for the region with existing facilities.
The plan records the agreed arrangements for standardization of operational procedures,
efficient exchange of various data related to tropical cyclone warnings, issue of cyclone
advisories from a central location having the required facilities for this purpose, archival of data
and issue of a tropical weather outlook and tropical cyclone advisories as agreed by consensus at
the WMO as part of the World Weather Watch for the benefit of the region. For this purpose,
there are Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) for different regions.

1.2 History of Meteorological Services in India
The beginnings of meteorology in India can be traced to ancient times. Early
philosophical writings of the 3000 B.C. era, such as the Upanishadas, contain serious discussion
about the processes of cloud formation and rain and the seasonal cycles caused by the movement
of earth round the sun. Varahamihira's classical work, the Brihatsamhita, written around 500
A.D., provides a clear evidence that a deep knowledge of atmospheric processes existed even in
those times. It was understood that rains come from the sun (Adityat Jayate Vrishti) and that
good rainfall in the rainy season was the key to bountiful agriculture and food for the people.
Kautilya's Arthashastra contains records of scientific measurements of rainfall and its application
to the country's revenue and relief work. Kalidasa in his epic, 'Meghdoot', written around the
seventh century, even mentions the date of onset of the monsoon over central India and traces the
path of the monsoon clouds.
Meteorology, as we perceive it now, may be said to have had its firm scientific
foundation in the 17th century after the invention of the thermometer and the barometer and the
formulation of laws governing the behaviour of atmospheric gases. It was in 1636 that Halley, a
British scientist, published his treatise on the Indian summer monsoon, which he attributed to a
seasonal reversal of winds due to the differential heating of the Asian land mass and the Indian
Ocean.
India is fortunate to have some of the oldest meteorological observatories of the world.
The British East India Company established several such stations, for example, those at Calcutta
in 1785 and Madras (now Chennai) in 1796 for studying the weather and climate of India. The
Asiatic Society of Bengal founded in 1784 at Calcutta, and in 1804 at Bombay (now Mumbai),
promoted scientific studies in meteorology in India. Captain Harry Piddington at Calcutta
published 40 papers during 1835-1855 in the Journal of the Asiatic Society dealing with tropical
storms and coined the word "cyclone", meaning the coil of a snake. In 1842 he published his
monumental work on the "Laws of the Storms". In the first half of the 19th century, several
observatories began functioning in India under the provincial governments.
Fig 2 Satellite image of weather condition of India from regional meteorological centre,
Nagpur

Observatory Networks & Frequency of
Observations
Manned surface observatories (3-hrly
observations)
Automatic weather stations (hrly
observations)
State - District rainfall monitoring
stations (daily)
Pilot Balloon Upper air observatories (6-
hrly)
Radiosonde/ GPSsonde Upper air
observatories (twice daily)
Radar observations (continuous
monitoring)
Radiation monitoring stations (daily)
Agro-met & Soil moisture observatories
(daily)
Polar orbiting satellite – earth receiving
station
A disastrous tropical cyclone struck Calcutta in 1864 and this was followed by failures
of the monsoon rains in 1866 and 1871. In the year 1875, the Government of India established
the India Meteorological Department, bringing all meteorological work in the country under a
central authority. Mr. H. F. Blanford was appointed Meteorological Reporter to the Government
of India. The first Director General of Observatories was Sir John Eliot who was appointed in
May 1889 at Calcutta headquarters. The headquarters of IMD were later shifted to Shimla, then
to Poona (now Pune) and finally to New Delhi.
From a modest beginning in 1875, IMD has progressively expanded its infrastructure
for meteorological observations, communications, forecasting and weather services and it has
achieved a parallel scientific growth. IMD has always used contemporary technology. In the
telegraph age, it made extensive use of weather telegrams for collecting observational data and
sending warnings. Later IMD became the first organization in India to have a message switching
computer for supporting its global data exchange. One of the first few electronic computers
introduced in the country was provided to IMD for scientific applications in meteorology. India
Observatory Upkeep & Quality Control
Conduct routine observatory inspections
Ensure exposure conditions as stipulated by
WMO
Instruments maintenance
Calibration with respect to standard equipments
Maintenance of raingauge stations (State)
Regional Synoptic Observations –
surface; upper air & other special
observations

was the first developing country in the world to have its own geostationary satellite, INSAT, for
continuous weather monitoring of this part of the globe and particularly for cyclone warning.
IMD has continuously ventured into new areas of application and service, and steadily
built upon its infra-structure in its history of 140 years. It has simultaneously nurtured the growth
of meteorology and atmospheric science in India. Today, meteorology in India is poised at the
threshold of an exciting future.
1.3 IMD Mandate:
 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, seismology and allied subjects.
 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.
 To detect and locate earthquakes and to evaluate seismicity in different parts of the
country for development projects.
1.4 Organization Structure in IMD:
The Director General of Meteorology is the Head of the India Meteorological
Department, with headquarters at New Delhi. There are 4 Additional Directors General at New
Delhi and 1 at Pune. There are 20 Deputy Directors General of whom 10 are at New Delhi.
For the convenience of administrative and technical control, there are 6 Regional
Meteorological Centres, each under a Deputy Director General with headquarters at Mumbai,
Chennai, New Delhi, Calcutta, Nagpur and Guwahati. Under the administrative control of
Deputy Director General, there are different types of operational units such as Meteorological
Centres at state capitals, Forecasting Offices, Agro-meteorological Advisory Service Centres,
Flood Meteorological Offices, Area Cyclone Warning Centres and Cyclone Warning Centres.
In addition, there are separate Divisions to deal with specialized subjects. They are:-
I. Agricultural Meteorology
II. Civil Aviation
III. Climatology

IV. Hydrometeorology
V. Instrumentation
VI. Meteorological Telecommunication
VII. Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre
VIII. Positional Astronomy
IX. Satellite Meteorology
X. Seismology
1.5 VISION AND MISSION OF METEOROLOGICAL FORECASTING:
1.5.1 Introduction:
Weather and climate are the integral parts of the agricultural production system that are
reflected in the dependence of the economy and food grain output on monsoon activity year
after year. Weather is an important component not only for crop production but also for
horticultural crops, livestocks, fisheries, forestry and other areas such as transport, storage
and marketing of agricultural products. The Agricultural Meteorology Division, India
Meteorological Department has made considerable progress in the field of operational
agro meteorology and also contributed significant services to the farmers of the nation;
however, in order to keep pace with the increasing demand for food grain production
including impacts of climatic risk and climatic variability on crop yields there is need to work
with renewed vigour to face complex challenges of weather and climate and to harness
benevolent weather for the welfare of the farmers, consumers and other stakeholders in
the food-supply chain.
1.5.2 Weather forecasting:
Weather forecasting is the prediction of the state of the atmosphere for a given location
using the application of science and technology. This includes temperature, rain, cloudiness,
wind speed, and humidity. Weather warnings are a special kind of short-range forecast carried
out for the protection of human life. Weather warnings are issued by the governments throughout
the world for all kinds of threatening weather events including tropical storms and tropical
cyclones depending upon the location. The forecast may be short-range or Long-range. It is a
very interesting and challenging task. This report provides a basic understanding of the purpose
and scope of weather forecasts, the basic principles and the general models developed for
forecast.
The basis for weather prediction started with the theories of the ancient Greek
philosophers and continued with Renaissance scientists. It was followed by the scientific
revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries. The theoretical models of 20th- and 21st-century
atmospheric scientists and meteorologists helped for the betterment in applications. These
synoptic weather map came to be the principal tool of 19th-century meteorologists. This is used
today in weather stations and on television weather reports all over the world. All can happen
only through a comprehensive weather forecast. Any weather prediction needs a systematic
collection of weather record of various places and proper analysis using the data for prediction.

1.5.3 Vision:
Ensure issuance of crop and location specific agromet advisories for the farmers
even up to village level through technological innovations by establishing world class
operational agro meteorological advisory services.
Our MissionHarness of the Agromet Advisory Services by providing a very special
kind of inputs to the farmer as advisories that can make a tremendous difference to the
agriculture production by taking the advantage of benevolent weather and minimize the adverse
impact of malevolent weather. Harness the beneficial effects of favourable weather
conditions on agriculture and minimize the adverse effects of unfavourable and extreme
weather events on crop production even at village level.
1.5.4 Focus:
To accomplish the vision and the mission of the Agromet Advisory Services ,
Agricultural Meteorology Division, IMD will use these kills developed in operational,
experimental and theoretical aspects of meteorology by effectively integrating and deploying
them for the purpose of making the agriculture production system more robust. The future
thrust will be for the development of agro meteorology as a catalyst in enhancing agricultural
production which will be primarily oriented to operational agromet services, including research,
training and dissemination and extension. It is determined to continuously strive hard to
transform the existing Agromet Service System into a vibrant Agromet Service Innovation
System. Thus the vision & mission of Agromet Service will be oriented in the following manner:
1. To provide quantitative assessment of local climatological information to scientific and
farming community.
2. To evolve technologies with clear application in evolving farming strategies for the benefit of
the poor dryland farmer as well as the progressive commercial farmer through multi-
disciplinary research and outreach.
3. To provide regular agro meteorological advisories to farmers based on the location specific
medium range weather forecasts for crop and location specific AAS to farmers at block level
with village level advisory.
4. To disseminate weather based agromet advisory on line to the farmers in
block/taluka/village level for efficient farm management.
5. To provide weather based adaptation strategies under climate change, climate variability and
climate risk management.
1.5.5 Harnessing of Agro meteorological Services in the country by 2020:
Weather and climate themselves have been constantly changing throwing new
challenges in harnessing the natural resources towards achieving sustainable agricultural
production. The scope and purpose of operational agro meteorology is to apply relevant
meteorological skill to help the farmers to make the most efficient use of physical environment
with the prime aim of improving agricultural production both in quality and quantity. Scientific
knowledge keeps on advancing through innovations brought out by new developments
in observations, measurement and communication technologies along with

technological changes in the farming practices. Significant changes have come about by way
of addition of new tools for observation (from manual to satellite data collection) and analysis
(from slide rules to super computer). The vision 2020 for agro meteorological services has been
evolved and mentioned below indicating the major thrust areas to be achieved in the next
one decade by streamlining our activities.
1. Weather/ Agro meteorological Forecast:
 Development of precise and accurate weather forecast at block/tehesil/village level in
addition to extended range weather forecast at fortnight, month and seasonal scale for
its application in agriculture.
 Issuance of forecast for different agro meteorological parameters like soil
moisture, aridity, growing degree days, leaf temperature, leaf wetness duration and
also for prediction of pest/disease for preparation of agromet advisories.
 Development of forecasting models for advance indications of forest fire
occurrence, effects of denudation on micro/macro climate for meliorative action.
2. Agro-climatic Information/Agro-climatic Characterisation/ Agro-climatic Normals:
 Generation and updating of agro climatological information for several major crop
species / production system and establishment of threshold weather values in the form of
manuals for all major crop species within the next ten years.
 Preparation of agroclimatic normals with reference to crop growth phases for major crop
species in a digital map format at regional level to depict spatial spread of stress effects
on crops in relation to aberrant weather conditions.
 Use of micro and macro agroclimatic characterization in relation to
determination of time and height of ground foraerial based sprays for pest / disease
affected cropped zones.
 Generation of future agroclimatic zone maps to indicate zones unsuitable with respect to
major cropsand updated every five years.
3. Agromet Observatory/Agromet Data:
All the Agromet Observatories including evapo-transpiration stations, soil moisture
etc will be will be upgraded and data will be available to GTS on real time basis. Besides
Agro-Automatic Weather Stations having sensors of soil moisture, soil temperature, leaf
wetness, leaf temperature, evapo traspiration and radiation will be set up at agriculture farms
in Krishi Vigyan Kendras at each district to get good exposure and provide data to
partnering institution for local needs. All types of agromet data pertaining to weather, crop /
animal growth and yield / products at the data bank in agro-meteorology will be readily
accessible to users. Large volume of data on crop phenology will archived for further
analysis required for agricultural operations. Phenology atlases will be prepared.

4. Weather based Agromet Advisories:
 In addition to the current agromet advisories issued to the users, weather based
advisories on agricultural drought will be made available as a routine for each major
crop species with reference to different phenol phases, region-wise, based on
current weather, synoptic conditions, satellite imageries and medium range weather
forecasts. Early warning and EXPERT systems become available for all regions in
the country.
 Crop-weather thresholds for every growth cycle phase of pest / disease will be readily
available in quantitative terms. Based on these threshold values, early warning
systems will be developed for conceivable weather situations and used with real time
data for in-season agricultural operations, leading to optimum / minimum use of
pesticides / insecticides.
 There is a strong need to develop suitable products for the sectors like horticultural
crops, livestock, wasteland and forest fires, post harvest and storage and incorporate
them in the advisory bulletins.
 Climate-fish growth and multiplication relations will be fully understood and models for
preparation of weather-based advisories will be in operation.
5. Micrometeorology & Agro-Advisories:
Information on microclimate and synoptic charts will be utilized as a routine for
determining control measures in plant protection. Macro-micro climate relations will be
generated under crop-environment scenarios and also under adverse weather conditions
influencing crop-animal productivity. These will be routinely used in formulating
weather-based agro advisories.
6. Involvement of Crop Growers’ Association& other Private Agencies:
Tie up will be made with the crop growers associations existing for important crops
like tea, coffee, apple, mango, sugarcane, cotton etc. To develop suitable crop-specific
advisories and also build up a mechanism to disseminate the information to the targeted growers.
7. Preparation of Agromet Products:
These will be made with complete automation of the system involving GIS platform
and advanced communication system. An integrated and holistic approach for effective
utilization of the Agro-met products will be adopted for preparation of advisories viz.,
pest control, fertilizer application, irrigation requirement etc
8. Popularization& Awareness Programme:
Special campaigns for popularization of AAS and awareness about availability of agro-met
advisories will be carried out. Emphasis will be given for development of a mechanism by
which a farmer should be able to contact agricultural scientist through internet, telephone,
video conference etc. And to get agro meteorological advise on his specific problem

9. Crop-weather diagrams / Crop Weather Models/Crop/Animal yield forecasting:
 Agricultural product-yield forecasts through use of dynamic simulation models became a
routine activity at several institutions. Integration of these estimates will be
 made for each crop species within and beyond contiguous agro-climatic regions
resulting in a regional level yield forecast.
 Models will be made available for routine use with real time weather data to
predict animal health/ productivity/yield from functional relationships between animal
 weather interactions. Items such as milk yield, poultry products, disease incidence etc.
Will be predicted on a routine basis for all agro-climatic regions in the country.
9. Multi-Channel Dissemination of agromet advisories:
Dissemination of the advisories will be done using multi-channel systems like All India
Radio, Doordarshan, Private TV, Radio channels, Mobile phone / SMS/IVR, Newspaper,
Internet, Common Service Centre of Department of Information Technology, Virtual
Academy / Virtual Universities / NGOs, Kisan Call Centres / Krishi Vigyan Kendra
(KVK) / ICAR and other related Institutes / Agricultural Universities/ Extension network of
State /Central Agriculture Department.
10. Impact of Climate Change in Agriculture:
Impact of short period climatic variations and long-term climatic change on different
production systems will be fully understood in quantitative terms at various spatial scales
and at different scenarios. Ready reckoners or simulation programs will be made for assessing
the impact if any on current year.
11. Training in Agro-meteorology:
 Training in computer programming for development of crop-weather dynamic simulation
models will be made a routine till the year 2015. It will become a core course with
sustained practical exercises for students of agro-meteorology / agro-climatology in
all teaching and research institutions and they have capacity to write simulation
programs.
 Extensive training programme for all those involved directly and indirectly in the
advisory preparation and its application including the farmers will be chalked out.Need
based training will be imparted to the trainers of the officers in the State and district
offices. Due emphasis will be given to impart training to the user groups as well as to the
trainers such as KVK, NGOs etc.
 Appropriate training will be provided to farmers through some capsule courses.
Extensive training for farmers will be provided through SAU/SDA with active support
from IMD

2. NEW INNOVATIVES IN FOREASTING WEATHER
2.1 Introduction:
 New communication and forecast system innovations and technology (e.g. the Internet,
wireless communication, digital database forecasting, next generation workstations, Now
casting systems) have emerged which provide the opportunity to improve public weather
services (PWS).
 These innovations allow World Meteorological Organization (WMO) National
Meteorological/ Hydro-meteorological Services (NMHSs) to provide hydro-
meteorological forecasts and warnings in a variety of formats (graphic, digital) beyond
the traditional text products. In addition, these innovations can impact NMHS service
delivery capabilities.
 Digital database forecasting and next-generation workstations, along with new and
emerging Information Technology (IT) systems and applications offer the opportunity to
further enhance and integrate PWS dissemination and service delivery functions.
 This paper provides an overview of several key innovations, technological advancements,
and IT systems/applications which are, or can, have a substantial impact on improving
NMHSs public weather services and their dissemination and service delivery.
 The paper will focus on digital database forecasting, next generation forecast
workstations, Now-casting systems, and IT systems and applications.
2.2 Digital Database Forecasting
 The traditional forecast process employed by most NMHSs involved forecasters
producing text-based sensible weather element forecast products (e.g.,
maximum/minimum temperature, cloud cover) using numerical weather prediction output
as guidance.
 The process is typically schedule driven, product oriented, and labor intensive.
 Over the last decade, technological advances and scientific breakthroughs have allowed
NMHS’s hydro meteorological forecasts and warnings to become much more specific
and accurate.
 As computer technology and high speed dissemination systems evolved (e.g. the
Internet), NWS customers/partners were demanding detailed forecasts in gridded, digital,
and graphic formats. Traditional NWS text forecast products limit the amount of
additional information that can be conveyed to the user community.
 The concept of digital database forecasting provides the capability to meet
customer/partner demands for more accurate, detailed hydro meteorological forecasts.
 Digital database forecasting also offers one of the most exciting opportunities to integrate
PWS forecast dissemination and service delivery, which most effectively serves the user
community.
 Both the NOAA/National Weather Service and Environment Canada are currently using
digital database forecasting technology to produce routine forecasts.
 The Australian Bureau of Meteorology is in the process of evaluating and developing an
implementation plan for database forecasting using the NOAA/National Weather Service
National Digital Forecast Database approach.

2.3 Environment Canada’s NationalWeatherElementDatabase
 Environment Canada (EC) has developed the National Weather Element Forecast
Database (NWEFD) that is populated with the output from the EC numerical weather
prediction models.
 EC forecasters manipulate the NWEFD making adjustments to forecast fields based on an
analysis of the current state of the atmosphere and model output including known model
biases and trends.
 When complete, the forecaster runs software that creates text-based forecasts.
 To assist in the development and population of the NWEFD, EC has developed an expert
system called SCRIBE.
 SCRIBE is an expert system capable of automatically or interactively generating a wide
array of weather products for a region or a specific locality1.
 The system uses data from a set of matrices which are generated after the 00Z and 12Z
numerical weather prediction model runs.
 These matrices contain different types of weather elements including numerical weather
prediction (NWP) output, statistical guidance model output (Perfect Prog – PP and
Updateable Model Output Statistics – UMOS models), and climatological data.
SCRIBE’s temporal resolution is 3 hours.
 SCRIBE produces forecasts twice daily for 1,145 Canadian station locations.
 When ready, the matrices are sent to each regional SCRIBE system.
 Upon arrival, the data is processed by the Concept Generator and is synthesized and
downsized to a set of well defined weather elements called “concepts”.
 These concepts are output in a digitally-coded format called METEOCODE and can be
displayed on a graphic interface.
 Forecasters can modify the concept output to incorporate the latest observations as well
as the evolving weather scenario/event.
 The concepts are used by the regional offices to generate local forecast products.
 The concepts will also be sent to the NWEFD where a suite of national forecast products
are generated.
2.4 NOAA/NWS National DigitalForecastDatabase
 In the 1990s, the NOAA/National Weather Service (NWS) recognized that it had to
evolve its hydro-meteorological products and services beyond text based forecasts to
meet growing customer/partner demands. In 2003, the NWS launched the National
Digital Forecast Database (NDFD).
 The NDFD is an event driven, information oriented, interactive, and collaborative 7-day
hydro-meteorological forecast database.
 The NDFD consists of a 7-day forecast for a set of sensible weather elements on a 5-km
domain which covers the contiguous United States, Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and Puerto
Rico.
 Each of the 122 NWS Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) produces and maintains the
database for its area of responsibility.
 Using the latest observations, radar and satellite data, guidance products from the
National Centers for

 Environmental Prediction (NCEP), and numerical weather prediction model output,
forecasters interactively modify the database using the Gridded Forecast Editor.
 Several NCEP centers also contribute forecast information into the NDFD.
 NWS forecast text, tabular, and graphic products are generated directly from the database
using product formatters and other output defined software.
 Also, the database itself is provided as an NWS product to customers and partners.
 This allows users to access the database for their own applications, manipulate the
database, and extract forecast information tailored to their specific needs.
 In the years ahead, the NWS will continue to work toward evolving the NDFD into a
complete four-dimensional environmental database.
 Future NDFD expansion will include observations, analyses, uncertainty/ probabilistic
information, outlooks, watches, and warnings.
2.5 Next-GenerationForecastWorkstations:
 Continuing advances in information technology and communication capabilities suggest
that the rapid increase in the volume of hydro-meteorological data during the last three
decades will continue and may even accelerate in the years ahead.
 The proliferation of automated observing systems and meso-networks, coupled with
improvements and/or replacements of existing remote sensing observing systems portend
at least an order of magnitude increase in data.
 The next generation forecast workstations will need more bandwidth, storage capacity,
and processing power to handle the expected rapid increase of data.
 This, coupled with increased temporal and spatial resolution NWP model output, will
make it imperative that the next generation forecast workstations are equipped with new,
state-of-the-art visualization and information processing techniques, including three-
dimensional techniques, to assist forecasters with data analysis and interpretation.
 Sophisticated diagnostic tools will also be required to examine the data and highlight
meteorological processes.
 In addition, the large volume of data will require an increased reliance on advanced
algorithms and processing techniques to monitor both current and forecast conditions,
extract and portray the most relevant information, and assist with hydro-meteorological
decision support.
 The next generation forecast workstations will assist in the preparation of forecasts,
warnings, and their dissemination through a host of communication channels.
 These workstations will also have the capability to support digital database forecast
preparation.
 Some next generation workstations may also look to incorporate an Internet-based instant
messenger chat (IMChat) capability to allow NMHSs to communicate with key
customers and partners during significant hydro-meteorological events and all-hazards
incidents.
 The NWS is currently experimenting with the IMChat concept in significant hydro-
meteorological operations.
 IMChat allows key customers and partners to get critical information in real-time for an
unfolding time-sensitive event or incident.

 In turn, NMHSs would receive site specific reports or other information which can assist
with forecast and warning operations.
2.6 Now-casting Systems
 A number of NMHSs have been developing innovative, next generation Nowcast
systems.
 Nowcast systems range in complexity with some that rack radar echoes and use
extrapolation to produce 0-1 hour nowcasts, while more complex systems utilize a
combination of NWP output and probabilistic/uncertainty forecast
 techniques to extend the Nowcasting time horizon out to 3-6 hours.
 Some of these systems also incorporate other remote sensing platforms including satellite
and lightning data.
 Many of these systems are still challenged to optimize the role of the forecaster in the
Nowcast process.
 One of the other key focus areas is incorporating real-time verification and feedback to
forecasters.
 An important strength of a Nowcast system is it’s ability to rapidly generate
hydrometeorological forecast products and disseminate them in a variety of formats.
 This capability will have significant implications for timely and effective PWS service
delivery.
 Several Forecast Demonstration Projects have been organized through the WMO to test
Nowcasting systems and applications.
 The first Demonstration Project was successfully carried out in 2000 at the Summer
Olympic Games in Sydney. Another demonstration project is scheduled to be conducted
during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
2.7 Information TechnologySystems and Applications
 Since its inception, NMHSs have exploited the Internet to varying degrees.
 While almost all NMHSs have an Internet web page, the dissemination and services
provided vary considerably.
 The Internet allows NMHSs to present hydro-meteorological forecasts and warnings, and
climate information to its customers, partners, and the public in graphic and digital
formats that would otherwise be unavailable.
 It also provides opportunities to enhance and expand service delivery.
 For example, EC has developed an Internet web site exclusively for the media that allows
them to tailor EC data to their specific needs.
 In another example, the NWS implemented an aviation-focused initiative called the
Collaborative Convective Forecast Product (CCFP) in partnership with its aviation
community.
 Weather-related delays due to convective activity are the single most disruptive force
within the U.S. National Airspace System.
 The expansion of the Internet in the 1990s, coupled with new computer and
telecommunications technologies, has led to a proliferation of Information Technology
(IT) systems and applications.

 The evolution of PWS dissemination/service delivery integration is directly linked to the
emergence of new computer and telecommunication technologies and information
systems (e.g. the Internet, wireless communication technologies, GIS, GPS, mobile
communication networks).
 Namely, these innovations allow NMHSs to provide weather forecasts and warnings in a
variety of new formats (digital, XML, CAP) to meet customer demands for more precise
and accurate environmental information.
 In addition, these new and emerging technologies offer the opportunity to further
integrate PWS dissemination and service delivery functions.
 Other evolving capabilities (PodCasts/VodCasts) can further enhance PWS service
delivery.
2.8 Geographic Information Systems and the GlobalPositioning System
 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are designed for capturing, storing, analyzing and
managing data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced to the Earth.
 The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally developed in the 1970s by the U.S. for
military applications and transitioned for civilian use in the 1980s, is comprised of 24
earth-orbiting satellites which provided location specific information as precise as tens of
meters.
 Together, GIS and GPS provide a powerful technological tool for NMHSs to enhance
their PWS service delivery. Utilizing GIS and GPS with mobile communications
networks and devices (cell phones, PDAs), NMHSs can effectively deliver user and
location specific warnings and forecasts.
 The NWS is utilizing GIS technology in its short-fused hydrometeorological warning
program through the implementation of storm-based warnings (also referred to as
polygon warnings).
 Currently, four types of shortfused warnings (Tornado, Severe Thunderstorm, Flash
Flood, and Special Marine) include polygon information which takes the form of latitude
and longitude pairs which highlight the threat area.
 Data from these warnings are collected and databased into a real-time set of GIS
shapefiles.
 These files can be downloaded from the NWS website in real-time and used by customers
and partners in other GIS applications.
 Severe thunderstorm warning in northern Florida by Media Weather Innovations, a
private weather provider.
 GIS and GPS users include emergency managers/planners and media partners.
 Emergency managers and the media can quickly access and download GIS shapefiles via
the Internet, add them to their existing GIS fields, and incorporate them into other GIS
applications.
2.8 Extensive Markup Language – XML
 EXtensible Markup Language (XML) is an Internetbased language format for documents
containing structured information or data. An Internet markup language is a mechanism
to identify structures in a document.
 The XML specification defines a standard way to add markup to documents.

 Structured information contains both content (words, pictures, etc.) and some indication
of what role that content plays (for example, content in a section heading has a different
meaning from content in a footnote, which means something different than content in a
figure caption or content in a database table, etc.).
 XML is designed to describe data/information and the document tags are user-defined.
 XML is a cross-platform, software and hardware independent tool for transmitting data
and information.
 It is important to emphasize that XML complements HyperText Markup Language
(HTML) and is not a replacement for HTML.
 XML is designed to describe data/information while HTML is designed to format and
display data/information.
 Another benefit of XML is its ability to exchange data between incompatible systems.
 In many instances, computer systems and databases contain data in incompatible formats.
 One of the most time-consuming challenges has been the exchange of data between such
systems over the Internet.
 Converting data to XML format can greatly reduce this complexity and create data that
can be read by a wide array of applications.
2.9 Common Alerting Protocol – CAP:
 The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) is an open, nonproprietary standard data
interchange format that can be used to collect all-hazard warnings and reports locally,
regionally and nationally, for input into a wide range of information-management and
warning dissemination systems.
 CAP format uses eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and standardizes the content of
alerts and notifications across all-hazards including hazardous material incidents, severe
weather, fires, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
 CAP’s origins can be traced back to recommendations of the "Effective Disaster
Warnings" report issued in November, 2000 by the United States Working Group on
Natural Disaster Information Systems, Subcommittee on Natural Disaster Reduction.
 Systems using CAP have shown that a single authoritative and secure alert message can
quickly launch Internet messages, news feeds, television text captions/scrolls, highway
sign messages, and synthesized voice-over automated telephone calls or radio broadcasts
to effectively alert the public.
 CAP is a simple but general format for exchanging all-hazard emergency alerts and
public warnings, including hydrometeorological warnings, over a wide variety of
communication networks.
 CAP allows a consistent warning message to be disseminated simultaneously over many
different warning systems, thus increasing warning effectiveness while simplifying the
warning dissemination task.
 CAP provides a template for effective warning messages based on best practices
identified in academic research and real-world experience.
 Growing segments of the emergency management community are embracing CAP as a
comprehensive, all-in-one approach to provide critical all-hazard information to the
public.
 In turn, the NWS is working towards adopting the CAP standard.

2.10 Real Simple Syndication – RSS
 XML is driving a host of new, innovative communication capabilities that can enhance
PWS service delivery.
 This includes Real Simple Syndication (RSS).
 RSS is a family of web formats used to publish frequently updated digital content.
 RSS is commonly used to update news articles and other content that changes quickly.
 Typically, RSS feeds deliver text and graphic content; however, RSS feeds may also
include audio files (PodCasts) or even video files (VodCasts).
 RSS is a pull-focused approach to receiving environmental information.
 Rather than the traditional approach of NMHSs “pushing” hydrometeorological products
to its user community, users install RSS feed readers which allows them to select and
tailor the environmental information they need to meet their specific needs.
 Users subscribe to a feed by entering the link of the RSS feed into their RSS feed reader;
the RSS feed reader then checks the subscribed feeds for new content since on a recurring
basis.
 If new content is detected, the reader retrieves the new content and provides it to the user.
 Most standard Internet web browsers (e.g. Firefox, Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla, Safari)
can read RSS feeds automatically.
 Alternatively, users can install a stand-alone RSS feed reader or news aggregator.
 Thus, RSS gives the user the ability to maintain environmental situational awareness and
quickly obtain the latest hydrometeorological information from their NMHS as needed.
 This approach also has the added benefit of reducing the load on web servers during
significant high impact hydrometeorological events and other high-traffic periods.
2.11 Keyhole Markup Language – KML
 Keyhole Markup Language (KML) is a recent XMLbased offshoot designed for
geospatial data applications.
 More specifically, KML is an XML-based language and file format for describing three-
dimensional geospatial data and its display in application programs.
 KML has a tag-based structure similar to HTML with names and attributes used for
specific display purposes.
 XML can be used to store geographic features such as points, lines, images, polygons,
and models for display in Google Earth and Google Maps.
 A KML file is processed by Google Earth and Google Maps in a similar way that HTML
and XML files are processed by web browsers.
 NMHSs may be able to exploit features of KML to add another dimension to delivering
user and location specific warnings and forecasts.
2.12 Future Technology – Dual PolarizationRadar and PhasedArray Radar
 One of the most exciting, innovative future technology enhancements for PWS is in the
radar remote sensing arena.
 Next generation radar systems (Dual-polarization Radar, Phased Array Radar) provide
the opportunity to improve severe weather detection, rainfall estimates, winter weather

warning, and increase the lead time for severe weather hazards including tornadoes and
heavy rain/flash flood events.
 Dual-polarization radars transmit radio wave pulses that have both horizontal and vertical
orientations.
 The additional information from vertical pulses will greatly improve forecasts and
warning for a variety of hazardous weather including severe weather, heavy rainfall, and
winter weather events.
 Unlike current WSR-88D radars, which transmit one beam of energy at a time, listen for
the returned energy, then mechanically tilt in elevation and sample another small section
of the atmosphere, a phased array radar system uses multiple beams, sent out at one time,
so the antennas never need to tilt.
 This results in a complete scan of the entire atmosphere in about 30 seconds compared to
6 to 7 minutes for the WSR-88D radar.
 In addition, the phased array radar system incorporates the dual-polarization radar
capabilities.
 The benefits of phased array radars on PWS are broad and significant.
 They will allow NMHSs to issue more timely and improved warnings of severe weather
hazards including the potential to issue graphic formatted tornado warnings up to 45
minutes in advance, improve the lead time for flash flood warnings and icing forecasts
for aviation interests.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has six Regional Meteorological Centres,
eachin Chennai, Guwahati, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi and these are headed by
Deputy director generals of Meteorology.
Fig 3 Meteorological subdivisions of India

3. REGIONAL METEOROLOGICAL CENTER, GUWAHATI
The meteorological office Guwahati was established at Guwahati airport on July 23, 1949. It
was upgraded to Meteorological Centre on 25th March 1974 and further upgraded to Regional
Meteorological Centre on 1stApril 1997. All met offices of North eastern region except that in
Tripura are under administrative and technical control of RMC Guwahati. Present address of
Regional Meteorological Centre , Guwahati is LGB international Airport, New Airport Rd,
Borjhar, Guwahati, Assam 781015.
There are 17 field offices under administrative, technical and financial control of RMC
Guwahati.
Names are
 Meteorological Centre, Agartala
 Meteorological Centre, Itanagar
 Meteorological Centre, Shillong
 Aviation Meteorological office, Guwahati
 Aviation Meteorological office, Mohanbari
 Aviation Meteorological station, Imphal
 Aviation Meteorological station, Dimapur
 Aviation Meteorological station, Barapani
 Aviation Meteorological stationLengpui
 Aviation Meteorological station, North Lakhimpur
 Meteorological office, Tezpur
 Meteorological office, Silchar
 Meteorological office, Passighat

 Meteorological office, Cherrapunjee
 Seismological observatory, Lekhapani
 Seismological observatory, Tura
 Seismological observatory, Imphal
 PET Jorhat
Fig 4 Areas covered by Regional Meteorological Centre, Guwahati.

RMC Guwahati controls meteorological aspects of North eastern region of India through various
meteorological networks which includes Meteorological centers of Agartala and Itanagar. MC
Agartala is responsible for met data from states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura
while MC Itanagar regulates met data from state of Arunachal Pradesh. Met centers and Assam
and Meghalaya reports directly to RMC Guwahati.
3.1 Meteorological Center, Agartala:
It is situated in the west district of Tripura. It was established on 5th April 1951. The center
provides weather observation and forecasting services for the state of Tripura.
The center is also responsible for providing Aviation Meteorological services for
Agartala airport, 7days city weather Forecast, agromet service for state agriculture department,
nowcast for major cities and tourist places in Tripura and adjoining states of Nagaland, Mizoram,
Manipur and Meghalaya.
The Aerodrome Meteorological office (AMO) Agartala provides forecasting services
for its own as well as for Aeronautical Meteorological station (AMS) Lengpui, Mizoram. It is
also has a seismological observatory for autonomic recording and transmission of earthquake’s
data.
3.2 Meteorological Center, Itanagar:
This is another MC that underlies RMC Guwahati. It is situated in the state capital of
Arunachal Pradesh in the district Papum pare.The center is also responsible for providing
Aviation Meteorological services for Itanagar airport, 7days city weather Forecast, agromet
service for state agriculture department, nowcast for major cities and tourist places in Arunachal
Pradesh. It also has a seismological observatory.

3.3 Major Activities:
 RMC Guwahati is responsible for broad meteorological aspects of the North East states
which includes Aviation forecasting, Warning against severe weather phenomena which
affects life and property, like ,flood forecasting, Agromet Advisory, Rainfall monitoring
on daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal and annual basis, Weather forecasting services to
general public, Government agencies and other users for research and planning purposes,
Implementation of District-wise Rainfall Monitoring Scheme (DRMS) of all states under
the region and proving necessary inputs to user agencies, Earthquake Monitoring.
 In addition to analogue systems of forecasting, RMC Guwahati is equipped with Synergy
system of weather forecasting tool, High speed computing systems (HPCS), Integrated
Automatic Aviation Meteorological System (IAAMS), Polar Orbiting satellite receiving
system (Metop, Aqua,Terra, NOAA series), Automatic weather stations (AWS),
Automatic Rain gauges (ARG), GPS, Doppler Weather Radar (DWR), Automatic
message switching systems (AMSS) for regional modeling.

Table 1 Meteorological service standard.
Customized Forecast: Power, defence, adventure, road/railway transportation, highway,
expedition, Pilgrimage, public utility, VIP functions, strategic operations, tourism, space, event
based forecasting.
 Nowcasting (Venue and location specific)
 Short range for next 120 hours
 Medium range for 3-10 days
 Extended range 10-30 days
 Long range for month or season
Except from forecasting Warning based Meteorological data are also recorded which gives alert
about forthcoming natural disaster for prevention and better management via help of various met
instruments and available data.

Fig 5 Meteorological Forecasting and warning data.

3.4 Status of Instrumentation in RMC Guwahati:

4. REGIONAL METEOROLOGICAL CENTER, NEW DELHI
A disastrous tropical cyclone struck Calcutta in 1864 and this was followed by failures of the
monsoon rains in 1866 and 1871.
In the year 1875, the Government of India established the India Meteorological Department,
bringing all meteorological work in the country under a central authority.
Mr. H. F. Blanford was appointed Meteorological Reporter to the Government of India. The first
Director General of Observatories was Sir John Eliot who was appointed in May 1889 at
Calcutta headquarters.
The headquarters of IMD were later shifted to Shimla in 1905, then to Poona (now Pune) in 1928
and finally to New Delhi in 1944.
Address:
Present address of Regional Meteorological Center, New Delhi is Terminal 2, Old Admin
Airlines Gallery, IGI Airport, near National Highway 8, Delhi 110037
Fig 6 Regional Meteorological Center, New
Delhi

4.1 Name of Station In-charge
Sh. K.C.Sai Krishnan, Sc-F (D.D.G.M )
4.2 Types of meteorological data published by New Delhi:
Rainfall (Hourly**, Daily, Monthly, Annual, Sub–divisional, Heavy Spells in 24Hrs, Extreme
values etc)
Temperature (Hourly**, Daily, Monthly, Maximum & Minimum, Extreme Values Etc.)
Relative Humidity (Hourly**, Daily, Monthly)
Surface Wind speed and directions
Station Level/ Mean Sea Level Pressure (Hourly**, Daily, Monthly)
Amount and types of clouds observed (**Twice daily / 8 times daily)
Fig 7 Areas covered by Meteorological Center, New Delhi

Various Weather phenomenon such as, visibility, occurrence of Thunderstorm etc.
Climate Normals based on 1951–80, 1961–90 and 1981–2010 data.
Weather Reports on specific weather phenomenon such as heavy rainfall, storm etc.
Windrose diagrams for selected stations. ** Available only for selected stations
Apart from the above data, there are various other special data that can be obtained from NDC,
Pune and supplied to the needy users. Seismological data can be obtained from HQ at New
Delhi.
Tropical Cyclone (OCKHI, 2017) Advisory Bulletin by Regional Meteorological Center,
New Delhi :
4.3 Structure:
Regional Meteorological Centre, New Delhi has its Meteorological office at Safdarjung Airport
for Non-Aviation and Meteorological Office at IGI Airport for Aviation purposes to cater the
meteorological requirements of the following states through different meteorological centres in
the region.
Region Meteorological Centre
Haryana & Punjab Meteorological Centre, Chandigarh

Table 2 Meteorological Centres
Himachal Pradesh Meteorological Centre, Shimla
Jammu and Kashmir Meteorological Centre, Srinagar
Rajasthan Meteorological Centre, Jaipur
Uttar Pradesh Meteorological Centre, Lucknow
Uttarakhand Meteorological Centre, Dehradun
Meteorological Centre,
Shimla
Jaipur

4.4 Climate Resilience Strategy – New Delhi:
Climate impacts and vulnerabilities hinder the process of development. The cross-sectoral and
inclusive characteristics of climate change adaptation helps counter these impacts and supports
sustainable development by reducing vulnerabilities, enhancing adaptive capacities and helping
in securing investments.
This Climate Resilience Strategy document aims to address these issues and build the resilience
of the city against the changing climate. This strategy has been developed in association with
ICLEI South Asia and Oceania with support from the Rockefeller Foundation under the
Replication and Dissemination phase of ACCCRN.
4.5 Objectives of the development of Climate Resilience Strategy:
The primary objectives of the development of the Climate Resilience Strategy includes:
1) Assessment of past and future climatic trends to determine possible climatic impacts that
could be faced by the city.
2) Assessment of risks to identified fragile urban systems that could be impacted by climate
change.
3) Assessment of vulnerability of fragile urban systems and vulnerable population of the city.
Dehradun

4) Identification of resilience strategies to overcome the impacts of climate change on the fragile
urban systems.
5) Serve as a guiding document for the city to introduce the concepts of climate change to urban
planning and development.
4.6 Major activities:
a) Aviation forecasting.
b) Flood forecasting.
c) Agromet Advisory.
d) Rainfall monitoring on daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal and annual basis.
e) Weather forecasting services to general public, Government agencies and other users for
research and planning purposes.
f) Implementation of District-wise Rainfall Monitoring Scheme (DRMS) of all states under the
region and proving necessary inputs to user agencies.
g) Earthquake Monitoring.
h) Evaluate seismicity in different parts of country for development of projects.
i) Provide current weather and forecast/ meteorological information for optimum operation of
weather sensitive activities like agriculture, irrigation, off-shore oil exploration etc.
j) Round the clock watch over the entire North Indian Ocean.
k) Running of numerical models for tropical cyclone track and intensity prediction.
l) Issue of cyclone advisories to the Panel countries 8 times a day.
m) Issue of Tropical Weather Outlook once daily (at 0600 UTC) and an additional
outlook at 1700 UTC in the event of a depression which is likely to intensify into a cyclonic
storm.
n) Implementation of the Regional Cyclone Operational Plan of WMO/ESCAP Panel.
o) Issue of storm surge advisories.
p) Continued research on storm surge, track and intensity prediction techniques.
q) Exchange of composite data and bulletins with Panel countries

5. REGIONAL METEOROLOGICAL CENTRENAGPUR
5.1 History of RMC, Nagpur:-
The meteorological services in the region commenced with the establishment of the first
observatory at my hospital premises in 1869. Later the meteorological office was established in
the year 1947 at Nagpur airport as a class-1 observatory. The regional Meteor Centre was
established since 1st April 1954 at the new campus opposite to the airport terminal building. The
regional meteorological center maintains all the observatories in Vidarbha region under
Maharashtra state and in the state of MadhyPradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Fig 8 (Regional Meteorological Centre, Nagpur)
5.2 Organizational structure:-
The Director General of Meteorology is the Head of the India Meteorological
Department, with headquarters at New Delhi. There are 4 Additional Directors General at New
Delhi and 1 at Pune. There are 20 Deputy Directors General of whom 10 are at New Delhi For
the convenience of administrative and technical control, there are 6 Regional Meteorological
Centers, each under a Deputy Director General with headquarters at Mumbai, Chennai, New
Delhi, Calcutta, Nagpur and Guwahati. Under the administrative control of Deputy Director
General, there are different types of operational units such as Meteorological Centers at state
capitals, Forecasting Offices, Agro meteorological Advisory Service Centers, Flood
Meteorological Offices, Area Cyclone Warning Centers and Cyclone Warning Centers.

The deputy general of meteorology is the head of the Regional Meteorological Centre,
Nagpur. There are two meteorological centre i.e vopal and Raipur headed by the directors in
addition to the meteorological centre ,differ types of operational unit such as regional water
forecasting system and aerodrome meteorological office ,Doppler weather radar,
Telecomunication unit, climatological and data supply and agro meteorological advisory unit and
few more function under administrative control of deputy director general .There are 17
departmental Meteorological observatories and 3 seismological centre Nagpur covers Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Vidarbh (The stations comes under Nagpur meteorological station are
Maharastra, MadhyaPradesh, Chhattisgarh)

5.3 FUNCTION OF RMC, NAGPUR:-
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, nor esters, dust storms, 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.
To detect and locate earthquakes and to evaluate seismicity in different parts of the country for
development projects.
RMC_Nagpur ADRESS:
J.R.Prasad,Sc.E
Address: Regional Meteorological Centre Sonegaon Airport, Nagpur (MS) 440 005
Phone No. (Office): 0712-2282157, 2288554, 2282398
5.5 RADAR USE :-(( for forecasting weather)

6. REGIONAL METEOROLOGICAL CENTRE, MUMBAI
The Regional Meteorological Center, Mumbai is one of the six Regional Centers of India
Meteorological department. The centre was in April 1945 for providing weather related services
to the states of Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat excluding Vidarbha region of Maharashtra State.
The center is also responsible for the monitoring of tropical cyclone formation in Arabian Sea
and cyclone warning work is carried out by Area Cyclone Warning Center Mumbai and Cyclone
Warning Centre Ahmedabad.
6.1 Activities:
Forecasting services
 Cyclone warning services for Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat state and Arabian Sea.
 Services to Aviation.
 Services for Shipping & Fisheries, and Ports.
 Inland Warning Services to District revenue, Irrigation, Railway.
 Services to public by issue of weather bulletins and warnings.
 Services to agriculture and farmers.
 Hydrometeorological and flood forecasting services.
 Supply of meteorological data to members of public, Government agencies and industries
for research and planning.
6.2 Other activities:
 Establish meteorological observations and issue forecasts.
 Analyse and interpret meteorological observations and issue forecasts.
 Scrutinize and process observational data for climatological archives.

7. METEOROLOGICAL CENTER, AHMEDABAD:
The Meteorological Centre Ahmedabad was established with the aim of rendering quick
and better meteorological services to the Gujarat state. The Meteorological observatory was
started on 18th Jan 1893 but the Meteorological Centre, Ahmedabad started functioning from
the year 1974. The office renders Aviation as well as non aviation services. All types of
information relating to weather, viz. weather bulletins, warnings etc. are issued to the public
and State Govt., through the most popular media like Press, Doordarshan and Akashwani for
the safety of life and property. Aviation Services to aeronautical communities are one of the
valuable services rendered at Ahmedabad Airport. Current Weather information and route
weather forecasts are given to air navigators.
7.1 Activities:
 FORCASTING UNIT (AVIATION AND NON AVIATION:-Caters to all
Meteorological needs of the state including climatology, Met. Data for Industrial site
planning etc.
 FLOOD MET. FORECASTING UNIT:- Quantitative precipitation Forecast (QPF) is
issued on basin/ sub basin wise, catchments/sub catchments-wise for the major rivers
in Gujarat to Central Water Commission during monsoon period. During non-monsoon
period the task is to maintain all Hydro meteorological rain gauge stations and
preparation of Various reports etc.
 RS/RW Unit:- This unit plays an important role since X-band radar is used to provide the
Upper Air Weather Information which are very much useful for the forecasting.
 AERONAUTICAL MET. INSTRUMENTS UNIT:- Provides direct information of
weather parameters prevailing on the runway every half hourly in the form of METAR to
Air Traffic Control Tower to enable safe air traffic operation.
 DISTRICT RAINFALL MONITORING SCHEME (DRMS) UNIT:- Monitors District
wise rainfall of all (27) districts of the state on daily / weekly / Monthly / Seasonal basis.
 AGRO. MET. ADVISORY UNIT:- Agro-Meteorological Advisory are issued twice a
week i.e. every Tuesday and Friday for the benefits of farmers of the state. Locust
bulletin is also issued quarterly for tracking of Locust insects.

8. METEOROLOGICAL CENTRE IN CHENNAI
Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai is one of the six regional
meteorological centres (RMCs) of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and is
responsible for the weather-related activities of the southern Indian peninsula comprising the
states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the union territories of
Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep Islands and Puducherry. The other regional centres are
located at Kolkata, Guwahati, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi.
Table 3 Regional Metrological Centre, Chennai
Agency overview
Formed 1 April 1945
Jurisdiction Government of India
Headquarters New Delhi 13°4′7.3″N 80°14′48.33″E
Agency executive Dr. S. Balachandran (Sc. F), Deputy Director General of
Meteorology
Parent department IMD
Parent agency IMD
Child agency Meteorological centres at Hyderabad, Bangalore and
Thiruvananthapuram
Website RMC-Chennai
8.1 HISTORY:
Established in the later part of the 18th century, the Chennai meteorological centre is
considered one of the first modern astronomical-cum-meteorological observatory in the East,
way before the establishment of the Indian Meteorological Department in 1875. Systematic
meteorological observations in Chennai started much earlier than the actual establishment of the
India Meteorological Department in 1875. The city is home to one of the first modern
astronomical and meteorological observatory in the East, established at Egmore before 1792.The
Madras Observatory, as it was known then, was established by Sir Charles Oakeley, the then
Governor of Madras under the East India Company, in 1792 "for promoting the knowledge of
Astronomy, Geography and Navigation in India", marking the beginning of the history of

Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai. Oakeley was supported by William Petrie, a member
of the Madras Government, who had built an
astronomical observatory at his own expense 5
years earlier in 1786. The primary purpose of the
observatory was to spread astronomy among the
masses, rather than weather observation.
For over a century, it was the only
astronomical observatory in India that exclusively
worked on the stars. Among the astronomers at the
observatory were Norman Robert Pogson, Michael
Topping and John Goldingham. By 1899, it had
been relegated to gathering weather-related data.
The 15-feet tall granite pillar monument weighing 10 tons, which carried the original
transit equipment, is still preserved and carries the name of the architect, Michael Topping Arch,
and the year AD MDCCXCII. Inscriptions in Tamil and Telugu were carved on the pillar in
order that "posterity may be informed a thousand years hence of the period when the
mathematical sciences were first planted by British liberality in Asia". J. Goldingham, FRS,
became the first astronomer of the observatory, who started recording the meteorological
observations in 1796.
In 1840, Captain S. O. E. Ludlow began recording meteorological observations on an
hourly basis. In 1855, William Stephen Jacob of the East India Observatory in Madras found
orbital anomalies in the binary star 70 Ophiuchi that he claimed are evidence of an extrasolar
planet—the first exoplanet false alarm. The "discovery" began a 140-year period of other
exoplanet discovery false alarms, although no actual planets were discovered.
From 1861, N. R. Pogson held the post of astronomer of the observatory for 30 years. He
also held the post of meteorological reporter to the Madras government for many years, who was
assisted in his work by his wife and daughter.
In 1875, the India Meteorological Department, also known as the Met Office, was
established at New Delhi, which is the chief body of national meteorological service in India and
is the principal government agency in all matters relating to meteorology, seismology and allied
subjects. The same year, daily weather reports started coming out at the Madras observatory.
When the observatory moved to Kodaikanal, astronomical observations ceased at the Madras
observatory, which was then used only for weather forecast.
In 1899, R. L. Jones, a professor of physics at the Madras Presidency College, was
appointed as part-time meteorologist of the observatory. The post was abolished in 1926 and a
full-time assistant meteorologist was appointed. The observatory, which was issuing the Madras
Fig 9 Madras Observatory in 1880

Daily Weather Report since October 1893 and supplying the time signal throughout the Indian
Telegraph system, was reduced to the status of an ordinary pilot balloon observatory in 1931.
The Regional Meteorological Centre at Chennai was established on 1 April 1945 under a
deputy director general of the India Meteorological Department to supervise and co-ordinate
meteorological services in the Southern region of India, which covers the states of Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territories of Puducherry and Lakshadweep. With
the formation of the Regional Meteorological Centre, the storm-warning work for the seaports on
the east coast of India from Kalingapatnam southwards was transferred to Chennai's
Meenambakkam centre in 1945. The meteorological activities were bifurcated into marine and
aviation for efficient functioning of the storm-warning services and separate storm-warning
centre was established at Nungambakkam in 1969. The responsibility of storm-warning task for
the ports on the west coast of India from Karwar southwards too was transferred from Mumbai to
Chennai in 1969.
8.2 FUNCTIONS:
The Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai is located at 50 (New No. 6) College
Road, Nungambakkam, between Good Shepherd School and Women's Christian College. The
three meteorological centres in South India function at Hyderabad, Bangalore and
Thiruvananthapuram serving the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala, respectively,
under the technical and administrative control of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai.
With the establishment of the additional cyclone-warning centres at Bhubaneshwar and
Visakhapatnam, the storm-warning centres at Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai were named as
Area Cyclone-Warning Centres (ACWC) and the storm-warning centres at Visakhapatnam,
Bhubaneshwar and Ahmedabad as Cyclone-Warning Centres (CWC). CWCs at Visakhapatnam,
Bhubaneshwar and Ahmedabad function under the control of the ACWCs at Chennai, Kolkata
and Mumbai, respectively. The ACWC supervises and coordinates the non-aviation forecasting
work at the meteorological centres functioning under it.
8.3 Aviation:
Data from the Chennai Doppler weather radar is currently being used by the Chennai
airport. The aviation weather forecasting activities, which are required by pilots and airport
authorities, are controlled and coordinated by the Aerodrome Meteorological Office at Chennai
Airport in Meenambakkam.
8.4 Seismology and hydrology:
Under RMC Chennai, conventional seismological observatories are functioning at
Thiruvananthapuram, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Minicoy and Salem. In 1997, seismological
observatories were established at Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and Visakhapatnam under

Global Seismological Network (GSN). In addition, an observatory under World Wide
Standardised Seismological Network (WWSSN) functions at Kodaikanal and a broadband
system functions at Mangalore.
The hydrology section at RMC Chennai periodically inspects about 2,000 rain gauge stations
maintained by organisations such as railways and state governments.
8.5 Public forecasts and warnings:
 Two of the Cyclone Detection Radars in the ACWC network.
The non-aviation forecasting work, including cyclone warnings, is supervised and co-
ordinated by the ACWC at Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, by means of the Cyclone
Detection Radar. The Cyclone Detection Radars are located at Chennai, Machilipatnam,
Vishakhapatnam, Karaikal and Kochi which track tropical cyclones over the Bay of Bengal and
the Arabian Sea. The cyclone warning bulletins are disseminated to remote centres in the coastal
districts from the Cyclone Warning Dissemination System (CWDS) unit in Regional
Meteorological Centre, Chennai.
 The Regional Meteorological Centre and other Meteorological Centres periodically
inspects the observatories to ensure the accuracy of meteorological observations and all
the instruments at the observatories are calibrated at least once in 2 years. The Cyclone
Detection Radar Station in Chennai is located at the Port Trust Building of the Chennai
Port.
Fig 10 Vishakhapatnam Fig 11 Chennai

 Since 1978, Agromet Advisory Units are functioning at RMC Chennai and other
meteorological centres under it. These units regularly issue Agromet Advisory Bulletins
twice a week benefiting the farming community in their respective states.
 In 2018, the IMD revealed its plan to provide tailor-made weather forecasts for various
sectors including agriculture, health, railways, power, and tourism. Specialised weather
forecasts provided by the RMC could help in planning operations in the respective
sectors and taking contingency measures during emergencies.
8.6 Observations:
The Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai maintains 121 surface observatories of
which 53 are departmental observatories and 68 are part-time observatories. In addition, it
maintains 13 pilot balloon observatories, 10 Rawin stations and 1 Radiosonde station. There are
also Port Meteorological offices at Chennai, Kochi and Visakhapatnam, which interact with
masters of ships and shipping companies and other marine interests.
Staff:
 More than 1,400 personnel including 300 officers work in various offices under Regional
Meteorological Centre, Chennai which includes 3 meteorological centres, 1 area cyclone
warning centre, 1 cyclone warning centre, 6 cyclone detection radar stations and 17
aviation meteorological offices (AMOs).[9][10]
 The IMD also maintains Voluntary Observing Fleet (VOF) through the Port
Meteorological Office at the Chennai Port comprising ships of merchant navy, Indian
Navy and foreign agencies.
 In 1984, a training unit was started at RMC Chennai to conduct basic meteorological
training courses, each course spanning 4 months. More than 1,000 trainees have been
trained so far in about 50 batches.
8.7 Additional services:
The Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai also issues Farmers' Weather Bulletin, a
bulletin on weather-based agro-advisory services for the Cauvery delta zone in Tamil Nadu. This
information is available both in English and Tamil on Tuesdays and Fridays based on the
weather forecast received from the centre.
8.8 DEVELOPMENT:
In June 1995, High-Resolution Picture Transmission (HRPT) direct readout ground
station was established at RMC Chennai. This receives AVHRR satellite imageries and TOVS
data from polar-orbiting NOAA satellites.
The IMD has plans to replace its S-band 10 cm Cyclone Detection Radar (CDR) network
with modern Doppler weather radars (DWRs) in a phased manner. Although the decision to set

up the DWR network was taken in the 1990s and funds allocated, the first DWR units are being
installed only in the 2000s. Two DWRs, METEOR-1500S,[13] imported from Gematronik
Gmbh, a German firm, at a cost of ₹ 130 million each, have been installed at the Regional
Meteorological Centres in Chennai and Kolkata. The Chennai DWR is operational since 2001–
2002. In the same period, a High Wind Speed Recorder (HWSR) was installed at the Chennai
centre.
In 2003–2004, a laser ceilometer was installed at Chennai airport for reporting data on
height of base of low cloud for aviation. During the same period, automatic message switching
systems was also installed at the Chennai International Airport. Chennai is one of the five state-
of-the-art regional message switching centres connected with the central hub in IMD's National
Meteorological Telecommunication Centre (NMTC) at New Delhi. Other regional systems are
located at Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Guwahati.
The city's first automatic weather station was installed at the RMC in Nungambakkam in
2007. As part of its ₹ 9,200-million modernisation plan, the Department of Meteorology plans to
install Doppler Weather Radar in Chennai.[16] At present, data from the manual observatory in
Meenambakkam is being used for forecasting weather. The Regional Meteorological Centre,
Chennai will install an automatic weather unit at Meenambakkam in 2011 as part of its
modernisation project, which aims to improve weather monitoring facilities. The department set
up two more in the suburbs of Madhavaram and Ennore recently. With the new automated
weather stations to be installed, the state of Tamil Nadu would have 42 such facilities.
At present, the staff of Meteorological Department and of other government agencies
such as Water Resources Department, manually measure the rainfall in facilities set up in some
parts of the city. For the first time in the city, the department would create a mesoscale network
of satellite-based automated rain gauges to cover areas within the radius of 5 km. In the first
phase, 10 such facilities would be installed in various localities of the city. The localities where
such rain gauges are to come up are Chembarambakkam, Avadi, Kolapakkam, Puzhal, Anna
University, Taramani, Pallikaranai and Tambaram. The department is in the process of selecting
one more site.
In March 2012, following Delhi and Mumbai, RMC Chennai started installing ten 50-feet
automatic rain gauge (ARG) stations to provide location-specific weather data. Equipped to
measure humidity, rainfall and temperature, they will help make accurate forecasts, specifying
the rainfall variability. Hourly data from the ARG stations are transmitted to a geostationary
satellite, which re-transmits the data, which help to validate the measurements from the Doppler
radar, to the receiving earth station at Pune. The ARGs are run on solar power. The first one was
installed in Sholinganallur followed by Taramani, Anna University, Hindustan University,
LMOIS Kolapakkam, Poonamallee, Chembarambakkam, Puzhal, Kattupakkam and Avadi.

9. Regional MeterologicalCentre-Kolkata:
Regional meterological centre,Kolkata located at 4,Duel Avenue Kolkata-700027 is
the nodal office for the public to obtain any information pertaining to India Meterologicl
department and its various offices located in the states of West
Bengal,Orissa,Jharkhand,Bihar,Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. At regional
meterological centre Kolkata, a right to information cell has been functioning to meet IMD’s
requirements under RTI act. It is commonly known that Rabindranath Tagore, who is often
called the monsoon poet, had indeed written some of his poems at the Alipore Observatory in
Kolkata, where he often lived as a guest of the meteorologist, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in
the years 1923 to 1926.
Tagore had been encouraging Mahalanobis to pursue statistics, which he in fact did. The India
Meteorological Department lost Mahalanobis as he left meteorology and went on to do
pioneering and fundamental work in statistics and later established the Indian Statistical Institute
at Kolkata in 1931.
Mahalanobis had a close and lasting relationship with Tagore. For several years, he
served as the General Secretary of Tagore’s Viswa Bharati University at Shantiniketan. He and
his wife, Nirmal Kumari, known affectionately as Rani Mahalanobis, regularly played hosts to
Tagore at their official residence on the first floor of the Alipore Observatory building. Tagore
had a room for himself, but he preferred the shade of the giant banyan tree that it overlooked,
under which he sat and penned his literary masterpieces. It was in the fitness of things, that
Rabindranath Tagore, the Monsoon Poet, drew his inspiration from clouds and rain in the
campus of a meteorological observatory! Tagore’s room at Alipore has now been converted into

a small museum which houses some of his memorabilia and the banyan tree continues to stand at
the hallowed spot in homage to his memory.
A rare photograph of Rabindranath Tagore with Prasanta Chandra and Nirmal Kumari
Mahalanobis sitting under the banyan tree at Alipore Observatory is given at the top of this post.
The photograph was taken in 1926 and has been digitally enhanced. It is displayed in the room of
the Deputy Director General of Meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, Alipore, Kolkata.
Regional Meteorological Centre Alipore, Kolkata covers South Bengal District Forecast
It provides 5 days district-wise rainfall forecast:-
1. East Midnapore
2. Howrah
3. Kolkata
4. Hooghly
5. Purulia
6. Jhargram
7. West Midnapore
8. Bankura
9. West Burdwan
10. East burdwan
11. Birbhum
12. Murshidabad
13. Nadia
Weather parameters such as

Maximum temperature, minimum temperature and rainfall
It provides local weather reports and forecast for alipur, kolkata.
SURFACE RAINFALL INTENSITY
Radar Data

10. CONCLUSIONS:
The overall picture of meteorological data management in India is encouraging
enough. Inspite of the constraints of shortage of space, financial and manpower resources, the
meteorological libraries and National Data Centre in India are providing appreciably good
services. But in order to improve this situation further at least; in the case of the India
Meteorological Department libraries, it is advisable to switch over to the modern mechanized
methods of management. The appropriate increase in financial and manpower resources is to
keep pace with an increase m the number of documents acquired and to cope with the "data
explosion". The data in printed form continues to be of utmost use at least in India in addition to
the data in the non-conventional forms, and its use is likely to be indispensible for a few more
decades. The collection, critical evaluation, organization, and dissemination of numerical data, a
field in which represents the interests of the international scientific unions, is functionally closely
related to the processing of published literature, and must be provided for in any future network
of information services in accordance with principles. Special attention should be paid to the
development of networking capability among numerical data centres, and to the functional
relationship of such centres with the bibliographically oriented network."

REFERENCES
Annual Report 2000 – 2001. Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.
Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
Archived from the original on 16 December 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
Automatic Weather Stations in districts. The Hindu. Chennai: The Hindu. 29 August 2008.
Retrieved 16 October 2011.
Ayyappan, V. (23 February 2012). "Plan for Doppler radar at airport faces headwind". The
Times of India Mobile. Chennai: The Times Group. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
Cyclone Warning Division. "Cyclone Warning Organisation of India Meteorological
Department" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. Archived from the original
(pdf) on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
Glahn, H.R. and D.P. Ruth 2003: The New Digital Forecast Database of the National Weather
Service. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 48, 195-201.
https://mausam.imd.gov.in/imd_latest/contents/history.php
http://rmcnewdelhi.imd.gov.in/index.php
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com, regional meteorological centre predicts rain in the region on
January 24-25
http://www.amssdelhi.gov.in/imd%20structure.htm
Indian meteorological department, ministry of earth sciences government of India
Lakshmi, K. (12 February 2011). "Automatic weather unit for Meenambakkam". The Hindu.
Chennai: The Hindu. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
Lakshmi, K. (17 January 2018). "Specialised weather forecasts soon from IMD". The Hindu.
Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
Landry, C. et. al. 2005: Operational Scribe Nowcasting sub-system: Objective Verification
Results. 21st International Conference on Interactive Information Processing Systems
(IIPS) for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology, San Diego, CA 8-14 January,
2005, pp 1-4.
Mausam.imd.gov.in

Ramachandran, R. (3–16 August 2002). "For reliable cyclone detection". Frontline. The Hindu.
19 (16). Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 16 October
2011.
Regional Meteorological Centre open for public today. The Hindu. Chennai: The Hindu. 27
February 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
Roy D, Mukherjee S and Sarkar R (2015) climate in environment and their effects on
Meterology Indian journal 4 6.
Tyagi A (2018) Modernization of observation and Forecasting System in IMD in support of
Agromet Services, challenges and opportunities in Agrometerology Springer,1-12.
Web-based agro-advisory services launched. The Hindu. Chennai: The Hindu. 19 January 2011.
Retrieved 16 October 2011.
www.imdnagpur.gov.in
www.imdmumbai.govt.in

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