The
India Meteorological Department (IMD), also referred to as the
Met Office, is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the
Government of IndiaThe Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations,
weather forecastingWeather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
and
seismologySeismology is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other planet-like bodies. The field also includes studies of earthquake effects, such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, oceanic,...
. IMD is headquartered in
New DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
and operates hundreds of observation stations across
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and
Antarctica.
IMD is also one of the six
Regional Specialized Meteorological CenterA Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre 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.-Tropical...
s of the
World Meteorological OrganizationThe World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
. It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings for
tropical cycloneA tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
s in the Northern
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
region, including the Malacca Straits, the
Bay of BengalThe Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
, the
Arabian SeaThe Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
and the
Persian GulfThe Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
.
History
In 1686,
Edmond HalleyEdmond Halley FRS was an English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist who is best known for computing the orbit of the eponymous Halley's Comet. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, following in the footsteps of John Flamsteed.-Biography and career:Halley...
published his treatise on the Indian summer
monsoonMonsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
, which he attributed to a seasonal reversal of winds due to the differential heating of the
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n land mass and the Indian Ocean. The first meteorological observatories were established in
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
by the
British East India CompanyThe East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. These included the Calcutta Observatory in 1785, the
Madras ObservatoryThe Madras Observatory was founded by the British East India Company in 1786 in Chennai . 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...
in 1796 and the
Colaba ObservatoryColaba Observatory was an astronomical, timekeeping, geomagnetic and meteorological observatory located on the Island of Colaba, Mumbai , India.-History:...
in 1826. Several other observatories were established in India during the first half of the 19th century by various provincial governments.
The Asiatic Society, founded in Calcutta in 1784 and in Bombay in 1804, promoted the study of meteorology in India. Captain Harry Piddington published almost 40 papers dealing with tropical storms from Calcutta between 1835 and 1855 in
The Journal of the Asiatic Society. He also coined the term
cycloneIn meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
, meaning the coil of a snake. In 1842, he published his landmark thesis,
Laws of the Storms.
After a
tropical cycloneA tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
hit Calcutta in 1864, and the subsequent famines in 1866 and 1871 due to the failure of the monsoons, it was decided to organize the collection and analysis of meteorological observations under one roof. As a result, the
India Meteorology Department was established in 1875.
Henry Francis BlanfordHenry Francis Blanford was a British meteorologist and paleontologist who worked in India...
was appointed the first Meteorological Reporter of the IMD. In May 1889,
Sir John EliotJohn Eliot may refer to:*Sir John Eliot , English politician*John Eliot , English Puritan minister and missionary*John Eliot, 1st Earl of St Germans , British politician...
was appointed the first
Director General of Observatories in the erstwhile capital, Calcutta. The IMD headquarters were later shifted to
ShimlaShimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
in 1905, then to
PunePune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
in 1928 and finally to
New DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
in 1944.
IMD became a member of the
World Meteorological OrganizationThe World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
after independence on 27 April 1949. The agency has gained in prominence due to the significance of the monsoon rains on Indian agriculture. It plays a vital role in preparing the annual monsoon forecast, as well as in tracking the progress of the monsoon across India every season.
Organization
IMD is headed by the
Director General of Meteorology. IMD has 7
Regional Meteorological Centres, each under a Deputy Director General. These are located in
ChennaiThe Regional Meteorological Centre at Chennai is one of the seven regional meteorological centres of the India Meteorological Department and is responsible for the weather-related activities of the southern Indian peninsula comprising the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu...
,
GuwahatiGuwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...
,
KolkataKolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
,
MachilipatnamMachilipatnam is a city and a special grade municipality in the Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located south east of state capital, Hyderabad.-History:...
,
MumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
,
NagpurNāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
and New Delhi. There are also
Meteorological Centres in every state capital. Other IMD units such as Forecasting Offices, Agrometeorological Advisory Service Centres, Flood Meteorological Offices, Area Cyclone Warning Centres and Cyclone Warning Centres are usually co-located with various observatories or meteorological centres.
IMD operates a network of hundreds of surface and glacial observatories, Upper Air (high altitude) stations,
ozoneThe ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone . This layer absorbs 97–99% of the Sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to the life forms on Earth...
and radiation observatories and meteorological radar stations. Additional data is received from India's constellation of satellites, such as
Kalpana-1Kalpana-1 is the first dedicated meteorological satellite launched by Indian Space Research Organisation using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on 2002-09-12. This was the first satellite launched by the PSLV into the Geostationary orbit....
, 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 NavyThe Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the 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 MeteorologyThe Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology or IITM is a scientific institution based in India for expanding research in meteorology of the tropics in general with special reference to monsoon meteorology of India. The current director of IITM is Prof. B.N...
,
National Centre for Medium Range Weather ForecastingNational Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting is a national agency for weather forecasting under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, , Government of India....
and the
National Institute of Ocean TechnologyThe National Institute of Ocean Technology was established in November 1993 as an autonomous society under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. NIOT is managed by a Governing Council and the Director is the head of the Institute...
.
IMD also operates seismic monitoring centres at key locations for earthquake monitoring and measurements.
Tasks
IMD undertakes observations, communications, forecasting and weather services. In collaboration with the
Indian Space Research OrganisationThe Indian Space Research Organisation is an independent Indian governmental agency established in 1969 for the research and development of vehicles and activities for the exploration of space within and outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Headquartered in Bangalore...
, the IMD also uses the IRS series and the
Indian National Satellite SystemINSAT or the Indian National Satellite System is a series of multipurpose Geo-stationary satellites launched by ISRO to satisfy the telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology, and search and rescue operations....
(INSAT) for weather monitoring of the Indian subcontinent. IMD was the first weather bureau of a developing country to develop and maintain its own satellite system.
IMD is one of the 6 worldwide
Regional Specialized Meteorological CenterA Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre 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.-Tropical...
s of the Tropical Cyclone Programme of the World Weather Watch of the
World Meteorological OrganizationThe World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
. It is regional nodal agency for forecasting, naming and disseminating warnings about
tropical cycloneA tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
in the
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
north of the
EquatorAn equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
.