IMD reviews preparedness, plan for cyclone season October-December

NEW DELHI: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday reviewed cyclone preparedness and took stock of requirements to plan for the upcoming cyclone season from October to December in a pre-cyclone exercise meeting.

According to Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology of the IMD, significant improvements have been made by the weather department in terms of tracking, landfall, intensity and adverse weather.

"The IMD has achieved significant improvement in track, landfall, intensity and adverse weather including heavy rainfall, strong wind and storm surge forecast. During the ensuing cyclone season, the IMD will start an interactive display system to observe and forecast cyclones, and to track the intensity on a GIS (Geographic Information System) platform," a statement from the Ministry of Earth Science quoted Mohapatra.

He also informed the stakeholders about various mobile apps launched by the IMD including Damini for lightning forecast, Mausam and Umang for weather forecast including cyclone warning, and Meghdoot for agrometeorological advisories.

He further mentioned that the free registration facility available to receive cyclone alerts, stressing upon the need to learn lessons from the past and insisted upon developing a foolproof triggering and response mechanism with active participation to further minimise loss of lives and properties.

The meeting was participated by experts from IMD, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Indian Air Force (IAF), Central Water Commission (CWC), India Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) among several others.