Mission MAUSAM

Why in News?

Updates on implementation of Mission Mausam presented in Parliament.

• Aim – It is a mission to modernise weather tracking and forecasting and to deliver high-resolution weather services and provide impact-based services to every citizen with accurate weather alerts.
• Type of Scheme – Central Sector Scheme (100% funded by Union Government).
• Launched in – November 2024.

The mission was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 14, 2025, marking the 150^th anniversary of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

• Nodal Ministry – Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• Implementing Agency –
  • India Meteorological Department – Operational Forecasts.
  • National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting – Modelling (3–7 days).
  • Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology – Research Support.
  • Indian Space Research Organisation – Satellite Data.
• Coverage – Pan-India + surrounding regions, includes Antarctic stations (Maitri & Bharati).
• Objectives – To achieve 5 × 5 km resolution forecasting.
• Improve accuracy by 10–15%.
• Enable impact-based & risk-based warnings.
• Ensure last-mile dissemination (household level by 2030).
• Target - All citizens, especially - Farmers, Fishermen, Disaster-prone populations.
• Features – Observation Network – Expansion of Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs) for precipitation and wind movement. Radiosonde for Upper-air systems
• Utilisation of Advanced instruments like Disdrometers (raindrop size), LiDAR (aerosols/clouds), Radiometers (temp & humidity).
• Computing Power - Use of High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems like Pratyush and Mihir, alongside AI and Machine Learning models.
• Forecasting Approach – Shift to impact-based forecasting and Risk-based warnings (damage-focused).
• Nowcasting - Increase the frequency of "Nowcasts" (very short-term predictions) from every 3 hours to every hour.
• Dissemination Mechanism - Mobile Apps – Meghdoot (Agriculture), Damini (Lightning alerts).
• Disaster alerts → SMS alerts via Common Alerting Protocol (CAP).
• Space → ISRO satellites.
• Integration with disaster management authorities.

References

1.  IMD | Mission Mausam
2.  PIB | Mission Mausam