Context
On September 11, 2024, the Union Cabinet approved “Mission Mausam” to enhance India’s weather forecasting, with a ₹2,000 crore budget over two years. Led by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, it aims to improve weather surveillance, modelling, and forecasting to address the rising extreme weather events driven by climate change.
Objectives of Mission Mausam
Mission Mausam basically focuses on transforming the meteorological forecasting system of the country through investing in technologies and methods. The mission’s objectives include:
- Improving Forecast Accuracy: The mission here is to improve the short-term forecast on the occurrence of h heavy rains and currently has an accuracy of about 80 percent. The need is to develop more accurate models for early identification of cyclones, heat waves, monsoon and other conditions of extreme weather.
- Real-time Data Dissemination: An important part of the mission is to develop a Geographic Information System GIS based, automated Decision Support System to make timely to time distribution of weather data and the alert to various groups of people including government departments and the general public.
- Deployment of Advanced Technologies: The mission will enhance the abilities of weather observation and modeling through the use of next generation radars, satellite systems equipped with sophisticated sensors and high performance supercomputers.
Addressing Climate Change Impacts
Mission Mausam also aims at enriching the ways through which the communities can mitigate consequences of climate change and not just enhancing the forecast of it. By enhancing weather prediction capabilities, the mission aims to:
- Support Disaster Management: The above initiative will help the society to get the alerts at the right time for the extreme weather causing disasters hence helping in disaster management and possible lives be saved.
- Promote Climate Resilience: Through achieving better forecasting of the weather conditions, the mission would assist in managing different sectors for example the agricultural, aviation, and health sectors within addressing challenges relating to changes in climate for instance extreme weather conditions.
Sectoral Benefits
- Agriculture: In the same way, the benefit of the agricultural sector is going to be immense from Mission Mausam. This will enable farmers to make correct decisions from the right time in planting seasons and periods of harvesting hence Improved crop yield and food security. Notice about the weather disasters will also reduce crop losses in times when these disasters are expected.
- Disaster Management: The need for the preparedness and response to disasters has been catalysed by natural disasters and liquidity thus should be a core part of the success of Mission Mausam. Hence, the mission of offering timely alerts and accurate predictions shall improve the response capacity of disasters hence lowering their impact on the people as well as structures.
- Aviation and Transportation: The outcome implies that weather forecasting on the aviation sector will be enhanced resulting in enhancing the safety beside the flight schedule. In the same manner, transportation industries road and rail will benefit from accurate weather info and be in a position to manage risks.
- Health and Environment: It will also enhance the area of public health since Mission Mausam will entail the issuance of alerts concerning air quality and harsh weather which may impact the health of people. Also, the mission will involve monitoring of the environment and will enhance sustainability and climate change adaptation in the country.
Conclusion
Mission Mausam is a significant advancement in India’s strategy for weather and climate prediction. The initiative has been allocated enough funding and has a focus on great technologies in order to improve both the accuracy and timeliness of the weather predictions which in turn will enhance the overall operation and functioning of several sectors as well as communities in the United States. Hence, by dealing with the issues owing to climate change and extremity of weathers, Mission Mausam is well set to become a key driver in making India better equipped enough to face all the possibilities of unfavourable weathers and climates ahead.
Source: The Indian Express