Lok Sabha Question No. 5743 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-04-06
Subject: Weather Forecast for Farmers
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5743 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 6 TH  APRIL, 2022

## WEATHER FORECAST FOR FARMERS

## 5743.   SHRI SUKHBIR SINGH JAUNAPURIA:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  information  regarding  weather  forecasting  services  to  be provided to farmers, tourists and users by Department of Meteorology at district and block levels in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the corrective steps being taken by the Government in this regard;
- (c) whether the Department of Meteorology is being modernized by the Government;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the amount being spent by the Government thereon;
- (e) whether the Government has any plan to make farmers aware regarding meteorology; and
- (f) if so, the number of farmers benefitted by the awareness programmes by the Government regarding weather during the last three years, district-wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a-b) IMD,  Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences  (MoES)  in  collaboration  with  Indian  Council  of Agriculture  Research  (ICAR)  and  State  Agriculture  Universities  (SAUs)  and  other institutions is rendering District/Block level Agrometeorological Advisory  Services (AAS) for the benefits of farmers in the country under the scheme 'GraminKrishiMausamSewa (GKMS)'.The main emphasis of the existing AAS system is to  collect  and  organize  climate/weather,  soil  and  crop  information,  and  to  amalgamate them  with  weather  forecast  to  assist  farmers  to  take  decisions  on  day-to-day  farm operations,  which  can  further  optimize  the  application  of  input  resources  at  farm  level during deficient rainfall situation and extreme weather events to reduce monetary loss and to maximize crop yield.

The  various  developments  in  the  field  of  Agrometeorological  Advisory  Service  are summarized below.

##  District and Block level AAS Bulletins:

Under  the  scheme,  5-day  medium  range  weather  forecast  at  district  and  block  level  is generated  and  based  on  the  forecast,  location-specific  block  and  district  level  agromet advisories  are  presently  prepared  by  the  130  Agromet  Field  Units  (AMFUs)  located  in State Agricultural Universities, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institutes, IITs  etc.  and  199  District  Agromet  Units  (DAMUs)  at  KrishiVigyanKendras  (KVKs) under  ICAR  network  and  communicated  to  the  farmers  on  every  Tuesday  and  Friday. Along  with  the  biweekly  bulletins,  daily  weather  forecast  and  nowcast  information  are also disseminated to the farmers by Regional and State Meteorological centers of IMD.

##  Establishment of DAMUs:

After  successful  implementation  of  District  level  AAS  through  the  network  of  130 AMFUs,  Organizational  setup  of  GKMS  network  is  being  augmented  by  establishing DAMUs in the premises of KVKs jointly by IMD and ICARto prepare sub-district/block level advisory and to enhance the outreach of services. Two additional manpower, viz. one Subject Matter Specialist (Agrometeorology) and one Agromet Observer, are recruited at each KVK to take care of activities of DAMU. Expert panel is constituted at each DAMUs consisting of experts of KVK and district level agriculture officer to prepare the weather based advisory for the farmers, utilizing the past, present and forecast weather information; location specific knowledge; and satellite-based information. As on date, 199 DAMUs have  been  established  and  block  AAS  have  been  rolled  out  to  the  farmers  at micro-level.Year wise details of DAMUs set up is as under

##  Installation of Agro-AWS:

One Agro-AWS is being installed at each newly established DAMU to record the changes in  weather  parameters.  200 of  these  Agro-AWSs are under the process of  installation at present (198 Agro-AWSshave already been installed); and the process for another set of 330 Agro-AWSs is at an advance stage of procurement. The Agro-AWSs also have soil moisture and soil temperature sensors up to one meter depth, as these parameters are very important  for decision making  in farm level risk management.  It  will fulfill the requirement of the country to have a benchmark district network of soil moisture and soil temperature observations in the country.

##  Generation of Agromet Products:

Generation of Agromet advisories based on realized and forecast weather and crop state and stage is always difficult. In view of enhancing the analytical ability of the scientists / experts,  it  is  required  to  develop  /  generate  and  use  various  agromet  products  utilizing different weather, crop and satellite data available on real time basis.

In  view  of  above,  the  agromet  products  like  spatial  distribution  of  weather  parameters, maps on Normalised Difference  Vegetation  Index  (NDVI),  Vegetation  Condition  Index (VCI),  Temperature  Condition  Index  (TCI),  Standardized  Precipitation  Index  (SPI)  etc. are  generated  on  daily  and  weekly  basis  and  communicated  to  AMFUs and DAMUs to facilitate preparation of more appropriate Agromet advisories.

##  Agromet Decision Support System ( https://agromet.imd.gov.in ):

A  dedicated  portal  'Agromet  DSS'  has  been  developed  to  make  seamless  data  & information  exchange  among  concerned  organizations  in  a  more  objective,  timely, transparent  and  effective  manner  leading  to  improvement  in  the  quality  of  services. Agromet-DSS  facilitates  the  scientists  /  institutions  with  customised  tools  to  integrate weather and crop information to prepare agromet advisories at finer scales in short time to serve farming community at micro level.

##  Real-time monitoring dashboard ( https://imdagrimet.gov.in/ ):

IMD  has also developed 'Real Time  Monitoring Dashboard' for monitoring the preparation of Agromet advisory Bulletins at district and block level and also the Farmers Awareness Programmes (FAPs) conducted by each DAMU.

##  Inception of new techniques and tools:

-  Nowcast (up to 3 hours), medium range forecast (up to 5 days) and extended range  forecast  based  advisory  with  a  lead  period  of  15  days  are  provided  to farmers and planners at central and state level.
-  Introduced very short range forecast for severe weather event like thunderstorm, lightning etc.; special advisories  are  disseminated  through mKisan portal and other social media.
-  Enhanced National collaboration for research & development and outreach of agromet advisories.
-  Introduction of Satellite based products as additional tools for decision making by the Agromet Experts.
-  Development of dynamic feedback - real time weekly / fortnightly and end-ofseason.
-  Online reception of weather data from manual agromet observatory in near real time.

##  Outreach and Dissemination:

Agromet Advisories are disseminated to the farmers through multichannel dissemination system like print and electronic media, Door Darshan, radio, internet etc. including SMS using  mobile  phones  through  Kisan  Portal  and  also  through  private  companies  under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. SMS to the farmers through private companies is continued.

Apart  from  issuing  district  and  block  level  agromet  advisories,  Impact  Based  Forecasts (IBF) for extreme weather events detrimental to crops along with possible  measures are being  issued  for  various  districts  in  different  states  as  and  when  situation  arises.  The weather warnings  for heavy rainfall, hail storm, cold wave,  frost, heat wave, high wind etc. at district level are  issued  by the concerned RMCs and MCs of the respective states and accordingly the appropriate farm operations to save the crops are prepared by AMFUs and  DAMUs.  The  consolidated  IBF  is  prepared  by  the  RMCs  and  MCs  of  IMD  and disseminated to the district collectors and Agricultural officers of the concerned districts.

Social  media  is  also  used  for  quicker  dissemination  of  forecast  and  advisories  to  the farmers.  At  present  farmers  of  1,164,27  villages  in  3505  Blocks  have  been  covered through 15240 WhatsApp groups. State Agriculture Department officials of District and Block  level  are  also  included  in  these  WhatsApp  groups.  Agromet  advisories  are  also communicated  through  YouTube  Channel  by  AMFUs  and  DAMUs  across  the  country. Farmers feedback are also being collected and uploaded in YouTube Channel. In addition, advisories   are   also being   circulated   through   a  number of Facebook pages created by

AMFUs and DAMUs. Initiative on collaboration with State Government has been taken up  for  integration  of  weather  forecast  and  Agromet  advisories  with  state  government mobile  apps  and  websites.  The  integration  has  been  completed  for  Bihar,  Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu states and about 6.2 million farmers of above-mentioned states are getting benefitted from weather forecast and agromet advisories.

Services  to  tourists IMD  provides  the  weather  information  comprising  of  observed maximum  temperature,  minimum  temperature,  their  departure  from  normal,  24-hour rainfall,  sky  condition  and  sunset/sunrise,  moonset/moonrise  timings  alongwith  7-day weather forecasts of temperature, rainfall  and warnings to 526 cities across the country. Information on extreme weather events in the month  alongwith all-time records, climatological  data  about  mean  daily  maximum,  minimum  temperature,  total  rainfall, number  of  rainy  days  and  mean  number  of  days  with  details  of  hail,  thunder,  fog  and squall  etc.  was  also  being  provided.    These  cities  include  about  106 tourist  destinations across the country for which 7-day forecast is being issued twice a day.  The information is  posted on IMD website. In addition to these short & medium range forecast, nowcast with validity  of  3-6  hours  for  extreme  weather  like thundersquall,  thunderstorm,  intense rain  spell  etc.  is  also  being  issued  every  three  hours  for  about  1089  cities  and  towns including many tourist locations covering all the districts in the country.

IMD  is also issuing special forecasts for pilgrims of Char-Dhamyatra, KailashMansarovar Yatra, Sri Amarnathji Yatra and Kumbh Mela.  IMD also provide  weather information for Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in the recent past comprising of (i) Yatra Route Weather Advisory, (ii) current observations, (iii) 6-hourly low level wind and temperature forecasts  for  helicopter  operation;  and  (iv)  3-day  forecasts  &  warnings  for  Jammu Division. Similar service is also being extended  to  various other pilgrim/tourist destinations  across  the  country  with  a  focused  effort  for  Himalayan  region.  Moreover, IMD  is  also issuing special forecasts  for  weather  information  regarding  mountain expedition as per the requirements submitted by mountaineering teams.

In  2020,  IMD  has  launched  seven  of  its  services  (Current  Weather,  Nowcast,  City Forecast, Rainfall Information, Tourism Forecast, Warnings and Cyclone) with ' UMANG ' mobile App for use by public including tourists.

- (c)-(d) Modernization  of  IMD  is  being  carried  out  under  successive  Plan  periods  through implementation  of  various  activities  under  Central  sector  schemes.  There  are  4  subschemes  of  IMD  under  umbrella  Central  Sector  Scheme  ACROSS  of  MoES  namely, Atmospheric  Observation  Network  (AON),  Upgradation  of  Forecast  System  (UFS), Weather & Climate Services (WCS) and Commissioning of Polarimetric Doppler Weather Radars  (PDWR)  aimed  at  expansion  of  observational  network  and  improvement  in Weather & Climate services. Details of activities under ACROSS follow:

## Commissioning of 11 C-band Polarimetric Doppler Weather Radars:

-  Improve  upon  the  spatial  and  temporal  density  of  Radar  observational  network, particularly over the regions with large data gaps in the country.
-  Effective Nowcasting and timely as well as precise warnings for severe weather events like Thunderstorms, Heavy Rainfall, Downburst, Gale winds, Hail, etc.
-  Improved  data  collection  and  archival  which will help in preparation  of  better climatology for the region.
-  With the availability of additional ground truth, verification of forecasts of numerical models can be carried out more realistically.

## Upgradation of Forecast System :

-  Augmentation  and  sustenance  of  Communication  Systems  including  upgradation  of MFI systems.
-  Development  of  an  advanced  Operational  Forecast  System  (including  Monsoon Mission-IMD), Automation of Nowcast, Thunderstorm Testbed, Urban Meteorological Services and Positional Astronomy services.
-  Upgradation of Hydrometeorological Services.
-  Integrated  Himalayan  Meteorological  Programme  for  Western  &  Central  Himalayas aimed  at  establishing  the  dense  observational  network  through  commissioning  of Doppler Weather Radars, Automatic Weather Stations, Automatic Rain Gauges, Snow Gauge sensors, HAWOS, surface observatories etc.
-  Capacity building, Outreach, R&D, Publication etc.

## Weather & Climate Services :

-  Setting  up  of  District  Agro-Met  Units  (DAMUs)  at  all  the  districts  complimentarily with  existing  AMFUs  in  the  country  for  extension  of  Agromet  Advisory  Services (AAS).
-  To expand the outreach of weather based  Agromet advisories to the  farmers through multiple  means  of  communication,  collection  of  feedback  and  impact  assessment  of AAS.
-  Major upgradation of Meteorological facilities at all airports through commissioning of State-of-art  Integrated  Aviation  Weather  Observing  Systems  (AWOS),  Microwave Radiometers,  Doppler  LIDARs,  Wind  Profilers  etc  to  support  Aeronautical  MET Services.
-  Setting up of automated Heliport Weather Observing &  Transmitting System (HAWOS) at Heliports, Landing ground, and other  strategic  locations  to  support the helicopter and low level flight operation of IAF, Indian Army and CPMF and also at important tourist and pilgrimage locations.
-  Sustenance  &  maintenance  of  Aviation  Meteorological  instruments  and  facilities through repairs, procurement of sensors, spares, CAMC/AMC etc.
-  Establishment  of  a  state-of  the-art  Climate  Data  Centre  with  integrated  advanced Climate Data Services portal for rendering national and regional climate services.
-  To provide a comprehensive set of improved and specialized climate services  for the country through upgradation of the existing operational activities of climate monitoring, climate prediction, climate data management and climate applications.

## Atmospheric Observations Network :

-  Integrated Meteorological Services for the North-East (NE) region through commissioning of DWRs, AWOS/ HAWOS, AWSs/ARGs/ SGs, Microwave Radiometers,  Wind  LiDARsetc,  and  establishment/  upgradation  of  Meteorological Centres aimed at improving weather and climate services over the region.
-  Sustenance  and  Augmentation  of  observational  networks  comprising  of  Doppler Weather  Radars  (DWRs),  Automatic  Rain  Gauges  (ARGs),  Automatic  Weather systems  (AWSs),  Upper  Air  (RS/RW  and  PB),  Surface,  Environmental  and  Polar Observatories etc.
-  Establishment/  upgradation  and  maintenance  of  Multi  processing,  computing  and communication facilities for Satellite Meteorological Applications

Year-wise cumulative expenditure on all 4 sub-schemes of IMD under ACROSS namely, Atmospheric  Observation  Network  (AON),  Upgradation  of  Forecast  System  (UFS), Weather & Climate Services (WCS) and Commissioning of Polarimetric Doppler Weather Radars (PDWR) during 2018-22 is as follows:

## (Rs. in Crores)

| Name of Sub- scheme               |   Total expenditure during 2018-19 |   Total expenditure during 2019- 20 |   Total expenditure during 2020-2021 |   Total expenditure during 2021- 2022 (till 30/03/22) |
|-----------------------------------|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| ACROSS- IMD (AON, UFS, WCS& PDWR) |                             175.94 |                              206.04 |                               150.33 |                                                180.79 |

- (e)-(f) With  the  advancement  of  information  communication  technology,  Farmers  access  the weather  information  including  alerts  and  related  agromet  advisories  specific  to  their districts through the mobile App viz., 'Meghdoot' launched by Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. These weather details are also accessible by farmers through another App 'KisanSuvidha', launched by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. Also, a few AMFUs  have  developed  mobile  Apps  to  facilitate  quick  dissemination  of  agromet advisories to the farmers of their region.

IMD is taking continuous efforts to popularize the services among the farming community by organising Farmers' Awareness Programmes (FAPs) in collaboration with AMFUs and DAMUs in various parts of the country.  IMD along with the experts from AMFUs and DAMUs also participate in KisanMelas, Farmers' Day etc. to create awareness about the services, so that more farmers get benefitted.

Number of FAPs conducted and farmers benefitted during last 3 years

| Year    |   FAPs Conducted |   Number of Farmers who attended FAPs |
|---------|------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2019-20 |             1624 |                                 95544 |
| 2020-21 |             1385 |                                 61217 |
| 2021-22 |             1578 |                                 67528 |

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