The 146th Foundation Day of India Meteorological Department (IMD) was held on January 15, 2021 in New Delhi. It was attended by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare along with other officials. Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated Doppler Weather Radars at Mukteshwar (Uttarakhand) and Kufri (Himachal Pradesh).Doppler Weather Radars in Uttarakhand is 1st of its kind.
- The radar has been installed under the Integrated Himalayan Meteorological Project (IHMP) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
- Dr Harsh Vardhan commissioned two of the ten indigenously built Doppler weather radars the services of X-band Doppler radars were inaugurated at Mukteshwar in Uttarakhand and Kufri in Himachal Pradesh. Eight other radars will also be installed in the Himalayas in the due course.
- In 2013, there are just 13 radars in India but India now has 29 radars operational.
Key Highlights of Occasion:
To mark this occasion, the minister inaugurated/released the following:
- It is Uttarakhand’s first Doppler Weather Radar (DWR), a device which can read the intensity of precipitation in the air to predict severe weather conditions like storms and heavy rainfall.
- The Uttarakhand’s DWR is inaugurated jointly by union minister of earth sciences Harsh Vardhan and chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat virtually.
- Multi-Mission Meteorological Data Receiving and Processing System in IMD in collaboration with ISRO (MMDRPS)
- Release of Report on Cyclone disturbances during 2020;
- Release of 32nd edition of IMD’s Hindi Patrika – ‘Mausam Manjusha’;
- Official e-launched “Online Web Portal of IMD Journal MAUSAM” in collaboration with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (CSIR-NISCAIR) (http://mausamjournal.imd.gov.in)
- Released a special issue of Mausam on Tropical Cyclone.
Points to be Noted – Under the project, two more DWRs will be commissioned in Uttarakhand — one at Surkanda near Mussoorie and the other at Lansdowne in Pauri district.
About Doppler Weather Radars:
Radar will provide valuable support to farmers and disaster managers in both the states, and to the pilgrims undertaking the pilgrimage to Kailash Manasarovar and Char Dham yatra.
About Multi-Mission Meteorological Data Receiving and Processing System in IMD Multi-Mission Meteorological Data receiving and Processing System (MMDRPS) has been established in IMD in collaboration with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).
- Its output will be utilized for monitoring and forecasting of severe weather events.
- This system is capable to process rapid scan data of INSAT-3DR Imager payload conducted during extreme weather events or cyclones resulting in better monitoring of such extreme weather and also reduced the down the processing time from 20 minutes to 7 minutes.
Online Web Portal of IMD Journal MAUSAM in collaboration with CSIR-NISCAIR launched officially
MAUSAM is IMD’ s premier scientific research journal published in the fields of Meteorology, Hydrology & Geophysics on Quarterly basis i.e. January, April, July and October. It is being published since 1950. Now, its online web portal has been launched in collaboration with CSIR-NISCAR.
Additional Info:
–India is 4th in its computing power after the United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA) and Japan.
–Under Agro-Meteorological Services, MoES is targeted to establish 660 District Agro-Meteorology Unit (DAMU) by 2025.
–The IMD advisories will cover 70 million Farmers by 2022 and 100 million by 2025.
Other Participants: Secretary, MoES, Dr. M. Rajeevan; Director General, IMD, Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra; Joint Secretary, MoES, Dr. Vipin Chandra; Anand Sharma, Head / Sc-G, Chairman, Organising Committee and several officials of MoES and IMD were present on the occasion while Chief Minister Government of Uttarakhand, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat; Chief Minister Government of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Jai Ram Thakur and former DGs of IMD joined through virtual platform.
Recent Related News:
- On December 29, 2020, Dr Harsh Vardhan virtually inaugurated India’s Highest Meteorological (Met) Centre at Leh, Ladakh (UT). It is situated at a height of 3500 metres from the mean sea level. Radha Krishna Mathur, Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Ladakh & Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, MP from Ladakh were the Guest of Honour at the event.
- On December 14, 2020, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHF&W) has approved the health data management policy of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) to protect and manage personal data of patients using the digital services of the scheme.
About India Meteorological Department (IMD):
IMD’s Parent Organization is Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Director General – Mrutyunjay Mohapatra
Headquarters – New Delhi
