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 Location of IMD headquarters in New Delhi | |
 Mausam Bhavan, headquarters of the India Meteorological Department, New Delhi | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 15 January 1875; 150 years ago (15 January 1875) |
| Type | Government agency |
| Jurisdiction | Government of India |
| Headquarters | Mausam Bhavan, Lodi Road, New Delhi, India 28°35′24″N77°13′12″E / 28.59000°N 77.22000°E /28.59000; 77.22000 |
| Annual budget | ₹514.03 crore (US$61 million) (2022)[1] |
| Ministers responsible |
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| Agency executive |
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| Parent department | Ministry of Earth Sciences |
| Website | mausam |
India Meteorological Department (IMD) is anIndian agency of theMinistry of Earth Sciences of theGovernment of India. It is the principal agency responsible formeteorological observations,weather forecasting andseismology. IMD is headquartered inDelhi and operates hundreds of observation stations across India and Antarctica. Regional offices are atChennai,Mumbai,Kolkata,Nagpur,Guwahati andNew Delhi.
IMD is also one of the sixRegional Specialised Meteorological Centres of theWorld Meteorological Organisation. It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings fortropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including theMalacca Straits, theBay of Bengal, theArabian Sea and thePersian Gulf.
In 1686,Edmond Halley published his treatise on the Indian summermonsoon, which he attributed to a seasonal reversal of winds due to the differential heating of the Asian landmass and the Indian Ocean.[2] The first meteorological observatories were established in India by theBritish East India Company. These included the Calcutta Observatory in 1785, theMadras Observatory in 1796 and theColaba Observatory 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 inCalcutta in 1784 and inBombay in 1804, promoted the study of meteorology in India.Henry Piddington published almost 40 papers dealing withtropical storms from Calcutta between 1835 and 1855 inThe Journal of the Asiatic Society. He also coined the termcyclone, meaning the coil of a snake. In 1842, he published his landmark thesis,Laws of the Storms.[3]
After atropical cyclone hitCalcuttain 1864, and the subsequentfamines in1866 and1873 due to the failure of the monsoons, it was decided to organise the collection and analysis of meteorological observations under one roof. As a result, the India Meteorology Department was established on 15 January 1875.[4]Henry Francis Blanford was appointed the first Meteorological Reporter of the IMD. In May 1889,Sir John Eliot was appointed the firstDirector General of Observatories in the erstwhile capital, Calcutta. The IMD headquarters were later shifted toShimla in 1905, then toPune in 1928 and finally toNew Delhi in 1944.[5]
IMD became a member of the World Meteorological Organisation afterindependence on 27 April 1949.[6] The agency has gained in prominence due to the significance of the monsoon rains onIndian 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.[7]
The IMD is headed by theDirector General of Meteorology, currently Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.[8][9] IMD has sixRegional Meteorological Centres, each under a Deputy Director General. These are located inChennai,Guwahati, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi. There is also a Meteorological Centre in each state capital. Other IMD units such as Forecasting Offices, Agrometeorological Advisory Service Centers, Hydro-meteorological Office, Flood Meteorological Offices, Area Cyclone Warning Centers and Cyclone Warning Centers are usually co-located with various observatories or meteorological center.[10]
IMD operates a network of hundreds of surface and glacial observatories, Upper Air (high altitude) stations,ozone and radiation observatories andmeteorological radar stations. Additional data is received from India's constellation of satellites, such asKalpana-1,Megha-Tropiques and instruments on board theIRS series and theINSAT series of satellites.[11] Data and observations are also reported into the IMD network from meteorological instruments on board Indian merchant navy andIndian 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 theIndian Institute of Tropical Meteorology,National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting and theNational Institute of Ocean Technology.
IMD also operates seismic monitoring centres at key locations for earthquake monitoring and measurements.
IMD undertakes observations, communications, forecasting and weather services. In collaboration with theIndian Space Research Organisation, the IMD also uses theIRS series and theIndian National Satellite System (INSAT) for weather monitoring of theIndian subcontinent. IMD was first weather bureau of a developing country to develop and maintain its own satellite system.
IMD is one of the six worldwideRegional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the Tropical Cyclone Programme of the World Weather Watch of theWorld Meteorological Organization.[12] It is regional nodal agency for forecasting, naming and disseminating warnings abouttropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean north of theEquator.
The IMD launched System of Aerosol Monitoring and Research (SAMAR) in January 2016 to study the concentration ofBlack carbon, radiative properties ofaerosols, environmental visibility and their climatological impacts. It would contain a network of 16aethalometers, 12 sky radiometers and 12nephelometers.[13]
Media related toIndia Meteorological Department at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
In 1686,Edmond Halley published his treatise on the Indian summermonsoon, which he attributed to a seasonal reversal of winds due to the differential heating of the Asian landmass and the Indian Ocean.[1] The first meteorological observatories were established in India by theBritish East India Company. These included the Calcutta Observatory in 1785, theMadras Observatory in 1796 and theColaba Observatory 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 inCalcutta in 1784 and inBombay in 1804, promoted the study of meteorology in India.Henry Piddington published almost 40 papers dealing withtropical storms from Calcutta between 1835 and 1855 inThe Journal of the Asiatic Society. He also coined the termcyclone, meaning the coil of a snake. In 1842, he published his landmark thesis,Laws of the Storms.[2]
After atropical cyclone hitCalcuttain 1864, and the subsequentfamines in1866 and1873 due to the failure of the monsoons, it was decided to organise the collection and analysis of meteorological observations under one roof. As a result, the India Meteorology Department was established on 15 January 1875.[3]Henry Francis Blanford was appointed the first Meteorological Reporter of the IMD. In May 1889,Sir John Eliot was appointed the firstDirector General of Observatories in the erstwhile capital, Calcutta. The IMD headquarters were later shifted toShimla in 1905, then toPune in 1928 and finally toNew Delhi in 1944.[4]
IMD became a member of the World Meteorological Organisation afterindependence on 27 April 1949.[5] The agency has gained in prominence due to the significance of the monsoon rains onIndian 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.[6]
The IMD is headed by theDirector General of Meteorology, currently Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.[7][8] IMD has sixRegional Meteorological Centres, each under a Deputy Director General. These are located inChennai,Guwahati, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi. There is also a Meteorological Centre in each state capital. Other IMD units such as Forecasting Offices, Agrometeorological Advisory Service Centers, Hydro-meteorological Office, Flood Meteorological Offices, Area Cyclone Warning Centers and Cyclone Warning Centers are usually co-located with various observatories or meteorological center.[9]
IMD operates a network of hundreds of surface and glacial observatories, Upper Air (high altitude) stations,ozone and radiation observatories andmeteorological radar stations. Additional data is received from India's constellation of satellites, such asKalpana-1,Megha-Tropiques and instruments on board theIRS series and theINSAT series of satellites.[10] Data and observations are also reported into the IMD network from meteorological instruments on board Indian merchant navy andIndian 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 theIndian Institute of Tropical Meteorology,National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting and theNational Institute of Ocean Technology.
IMD also operates seismic monitoring centres at key locations for earthquake monitoring and measurements.
IMD undertakes observations, communications, forecasting and weather services. In collaboration with theIndian Space Research Organisation, the IMD also uses theIRS series and theIndian National Satellite System (INSAT) for weather monitoring of theIndian subcontinent. IMD was first weather bureau of a developing country to develop and maintain its own satellite system.
IMD is one of the six worldwideRegional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the Tropical Cyclone Programme of the World Weather Watch of theWorld Meteorological Organization.[11] It is regional nodal agency for forecasting, naming and disseminating warnings abouttropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean north of theEquator.
The IMD launched System of Aerosol Monitoring and Research (SAMAR) in January 2016 to study the concentration ofBlack carbon, radiative properties ofaerosols, environmental visibility and their climatological impacts. It would contain a network of 16aethalometers, 12 sky radiometers and 12nephelometers.[12]
Media related toIndia Meteorological Department at Wikimedia Commons