IMD launched “Climate Data Service Portal”
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recently launched a Climate Data Service Portal having data of over 100 years.
What is Climate Data Service Portal?
Climate Data Services Portal has been developed by IMD, Pune with user-friendly platforms for climate data management and supply to the users. It complements fully automated climate data management process from real-time data acquisition to expeditious data dissemination. The major components of the portal are listed below:
- Real-Time monitoring of weather observations recorded by IMD Observatories.
- Encapsulated IMD Metadata Portal, other reports and dashboards
- Online access to meteorological data through Data Supply Portal.
- Free download facility for Gridded Temperature and Rainfall Data of India.
- Climatological Tables, Extremes and Normal.
- Information on Monsoon Rainfall and Cyclone frequencies.
- Data analytics and info graphics.
What is the Objective of Climate Data Service Portal?
The Main objective of the Climate Data Service Portal is to provide weather and climate services to the users. Climate data are essential inputs for government officials responsible for the management of public finances, assets, such as electricity grids, government buildings and roads, and services such as emergency response and assistance.
About India Meteorological Department
- Headquartered in Delhi, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India.
- It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology.
- IMD is operates hundreds of observation stations across India and Antarctica. Regional offices are at Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Nagpur, Guwahati and New Delhi.
- IMD undertakes observations, communications, forecasting and weather services. In collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation, the IMD also uses the IRS series and the Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) for weather monitoring of the Indian subcontinent.
- IMD was first weather bureau of a developing country to develop and maintain its own satellite system.
- The IMD launched System of Aerosol Monitoring and Research (SAMAR) in January 2016 to study the concentration of Black carbon, radiative properties of aerosols, environmental visibility and their climatological impacts. It would contain a network of 16 aethalometers, 12 sky radiometers and 12 nephelometers.
About World Meteorological Organization
- The World Meteorological Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations with 193 Member States and Territories.
- It is the UN system's authoritative voice on the state and behaviour of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the land and oceans, the weather and climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources.
- The establishment of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in March 1950, following the entry into force of its Convention, and the designation of WMO in 1951 as a specialized agency of the United Nations, heralded a new era for international cooperation in the field of meteorology, hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
About World Meteorological Day
World Meteorological Day is celebrated on March 23 every year to highlight the importance of the role that people and their behaviour play in protecting Earth’s atmosphere.
The day also commemorates the establishment of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which is an intergovernmental body, on March 23, 1950.
According to WMO’s website, the day “showcases the essential contribution of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services to the safety and wellbeing of society.”