Mission Mausam Implementation: Strengthening India's Weather and Climate Services
UPSC / SSC current affairs note · IR
Why in news
Mission Mausam was launched by PM Modi on 14 January 2025 to make India a 'weather-ready and climate-smart' nation. The mission aims to enhance weather observation, understanding, modeling, and forecasting. Recent updates highlight the deployment of advanced radars, high-performance computing, and AI/ML models.
Background
India's weather forecasting capabilities have evolved over decades, with IMD operating Doppler weather radars and numerical weather prediction models. The Earth System Science Organization (ESSO) under MoES has been upgrading infrastructure. Mission Mausam builds on these efforts to provide seamless weather and climate services.
Key facts
Mission Mausam launched on 14 January 2025 by PM Modi.
Aims to make India 'weather-ready and climate-smart'.
Key objectives: develop cutting-edge monitoring tech, deploy next-gen radars (C-band, X-band, S-band), implement high-performance computing (HPC), enhance Earth system models with AI/ML, and establish decision support systems (DSS).
Current radar network: 50 Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs) operated by IMD, MoES institutes, and ISRO; planned expansion to 29 C-band, 45 X-band, and 12 S-band DWRs.
Global and regional NWP models run at 12 km resolution; new BharatFS runs at 6 km resolution covering block and panchayat levels.
MoES computing capacity increased to 28 petaflops in 2025 (from 6.8 petaflops in 2014) with 'Arunika' and 'Arka' systems.
Three AI-based global models operational for severe weather guidance; indigenous AI/ML tools developed for nowcasting and urban forecasting.
Disaster early warning systems improved through observation network enhancement and citizen-centric forecasting systems.
Decision Support System (DSS) 'Aatmanirbhar' developed by IMD for disaster management.
Prelims pointers
- Mission Mausam launched: 14 January 2025
- Ministry: Earth Sciences (MoES)
- Implementing agencies: IMD, MoES institutes, ISRO
- Radar types: C-band, X-band, S-band DWRs
- HPC systems: Arunika, Arka (28 petaflops)
- BharatFS: high-resolution (6 km) forecasting system
- AI/ML models: three global models operational
- DSS: Aatmanirbhar
- Previous computing capacity (2014): 6.8 petaflops
Mains angles
- Discuss the significance of Mission Mausam in enhancing India's disaster preparedness and climate resilience.
- Critically examine the role of AI/ML and HPC in modernizing weather forecasting in India.
- Evaluate the impact of improved early warning systems on disaster management and public safety.