Context:
Union Cabinet approved ‘Mission Mausam’ with an outlay of Rs.2,000 crore over two years.
Mission Mausam:
- A comprehensive initiative aimed at significantly enhancing India’s capabilities in weather and climate science, research, and services.
- Focus Areas –
- Precise Weather and Climate Data – Including monsoon forecasts, air quality alerts, extreme event warnings, and management of fog, hail, and rain.
- Capacity Building and Awareness – Enhancing skills and knowledge related to weather and climate.
- Key Components –
- Next-Generation Radars and Satellite Systems – Equipped with advanced sensors.
- High-Performance Supercomputers – To improve Earth system models.
- GIS-Based Automated Decision Support System – For real-time data dissemination.
- Implementing Agencies – 3 institutes under Ministry of Earth Science
- India Meteorological Department (IMD)
- Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM)
- National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF)
Other Initiatives to Improve Weather Forecasting:
- Monsoon Mission (2012) – Enhances dynamic modeling systems for better short-range to seasonal monsoon forecasts.
- Weather Information Network and Data System (WINDS) – Generates long-term, hyper-local weather data.
- Earth Observation Satellites –
- INSAT-3D (2013)
- INSAT-3DR (2016)
- INSAT-3DS (2024)
- Supercomputers Pratyush and Mihir – Operationalized in 2018 for advanced weather forecasting.
Source: PIB
Previous Year Question
With reference to ‘Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)’ sometimes mentioned in the news while forecasting Indian monsoon, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. The IOD phenomenon is characterised by a difference in sea surface temperature between tropical Western Indian Ocean and tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean.
2. An IOD phenomenon can influence an El Nino’s impact on the monsoon.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2017 Prelims]
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is not correct: The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) measures differences in sea surface temperature between the Arabian Sea (western pole) and the eastern Indian Ocean (eastern pole).
