Increasing challenges in forecasting weather due to climate change
According to the Director General of India Meteorological Department (IMD) recently, weather forecasting has become difficult due to climate change across the world.
The Director General of IMD said that climate change is leading to an increase in extreme weather events such as devastating storms, lightning and heavy rainfall. These developments are posing challenges to the formulation of forecasts.
IMD is the nodal agency for monitoring the weather across India. It functions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
IMD uses a range of INSAT satellites for real-time analysis of products and information dissemination applications for forecasting (RAPID). It provides instant interactive visualization with rapid 4-dimensional analysis capabilities.
IMD also collaborates with ISRO for ground-based observations. These observations measure temperature, sunlight, wind direction, speed, and humidity.
Models used by IMD for forecasting-
Statistical Ensemble Forecasting System (SEFS), which is based on the following parameters:
- Fluctuations in sea surface temperature (SST) between the North Atlantic and the North Pacific,
- Sea surface temperature in the equatorial South Indian Ocean,
- Mean sea level pressure over East Asia,
- Surface air temperature in north-west Europe and
- Warm water volume in the equatorial Pacific.
Dynamic Global Climate Forecasting System: It analyzes land, atmosphere and ocean conditions on supercomputers.
Multi-Modal Ensemble Forecasting System: It is based on global climate models constructed from the findings of various global climate forecasting and research centres.
Source – The Hindu
