IMD and Private players

July 10, 2021

Syllabus– General Studies 3(environment)

Context

Parliamentary panel for synergy between IMD and private players

More on the news:

According to the Standing Committee on Science:
- There is a need for better synergy between the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and private forecasters.
- To avoid confusion, especially during extreme climate events like cyclones or flash floods.
Currently, there are three private players in India i.e.;
- Skymet (India),
- Earth Networks and
- IBM Weather.
In recent years, the IMD and Skymet have often made differing predictions on the monsoon.
In June 2021, the Kerala government, dissatisfied with the IMD’s performance, hired Skymet Private Limited, Earth Networks and the IBM Weather Company.
- In order to use ensemble predictions to improve extreme weather alert services in the State.
- The IMD was vociferous on the issue and said that multiple predictions often create unnecessary confusion.
The members of the committee also expressed that, year after year, the IMD assesses the monsoon to be normal though the actual experience is different.
Statistically, the monsoon may be normal in terms of the average rainfall, but most certainly the number of rainfall days had decreased.
There have also been far more flash floods in recent times than ever before, the members pointed out.
The committee also discussed:
- The current monsoon forecast,
- Deficit regions and States,
- Urban heat islands,
- Distribution of weather stations across districts, and
- Matching meteorological sub-divisions with agro-climatic zones.

Question- How cyclone prediction can be improved by synergizing the inputs by IMD and private players?

Article- https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/getting-the-wind-up-over-the-weather/article35244633.ece