Centre Launches AI-Based Weather Forecast Systems for Hyper-Local Predictions

New Delhi: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday launched two advanced weather forecasting products aimed at strengthening India’s hyper-local and impact-based weather prediction capabilities through artificial intelligence-driven systems.

The newly launched services include India’s first AI-enabled “Forecast of Monsoon Advance over Different Parts of the Country” developed by the India Meteorological Department and a pilot “High Spatial Resolution Rainfall Forecast for Uttar Pradesh.”

The systems have been jointly developed by IMD, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting.

Speaking at the launch event in New Delhi, Jitendra Singh said India’s weather forecasting ecosystem has undergone major transformation over the past decade through technological advancement, data integration and improved modelling systems.

He said the new forecasting tools represent a shift from conventional forecasting to decision-support and impact-based forecasting capable of delivering highly localised and actionable weather information for farmers, disaster managers, administrators and citizens.

According to the Minister, the AI-enabled monsoon forecasting system will issue probabilistic forecasts of monsoon progression every Wednesday up to four weeks in advance. The system is expected to support farmers across 16 states and more than 3,000 sub-districts through the dissemination network of the Agriculture Ministry.

The second product, introduced initially for Uttar Pradesh, will provide rainfall forecasts at a 1-kilometre spatial resolution up to 10 days in advance using AI-driven downscaling techniques and data collected from weather stations, rain gauges, Doppler radars and satellite-based rainfall systems.

Jitendra Singh said the new systems would help sectors such as agriculture, disaster management, water resources, renewable energy and urban planning by enabling more accurate local-level forecasting.

Highlighting improvements in forecasting capabilities, the Minister said India has recorded nearly 40 per cent improvement in severe weather forecast accuracy over the past decade, while cyclone forecasting related to track, intensity and landfall has improved by 30 to 35 per cent in the last five years.

He also noted that the country’s Doppler Weather Radar network has expanded significantly from around 16 radars a decade ago to nearly 50 at present, with another 50 proposed under Mission Mausam.

Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, M. Ravichandran said the newly launched forecasting systems were developed in response to growing demand for highly localised and high-resolution weather services across sectors.

The launch event was attended by senior officials and scientists including IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra and IITM Director Suryachandra Rao.