Lok Sabha Question No. 6084 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-01
Subject: Early Warning System
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Shri Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh, Shri Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6084

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 1 ST  APRIL, 2026

## EARLY WARNING SYSTEM

## †6084. SHRI SANJAY UTTAMRAO DESHMUKH: SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has created an early warning system to estimate the damage caused by cyclone, rain earthquake, flood, etc.;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the time by which the said system was created;
- (c) whether the States also have the said system particularly in areas regularly affected by cyclones and other natural disasters;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e) the  details  of  use  of  early  warning  system  and  mitigate  the  damages  caused  by earthquake, flood etc. during the last three years?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)-(b)  The India  Meteorological  Department (IMD),  under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), has developed a multi-hazard early warning (MHEWS) system for generation and dissemination of accurate impact based weather forecasting and risk-based warning in  a  timely  manner  during  various  severe  weather  events  such  as  cyclone,  heavy rainfall, heat wave, cold wave, etc. through efficient dissemination system consisting of various communication channels weather forecasts and warnings are delivered to the disaster  managers  at  the  National/State  levels,  various  stakeholders  and  public  for preparedness before the event, mitigation measures during the event and restoration & rescue works aftermath.

The IMD provides Impact-Based Forecast (IBF) & Risk-Based Warning (RBW) at the district level using different colour codes since 2020. The multi-hazard early warning Decision Support System (DSS) has been developed indigenously by IMD and has been in operation since 2023. It is used to provide IBF& RBW at the district level on the GIS platform.

Presently, there is no scientific technique available anywhere in the world to precisely predict earthquakes in terms of time, location, and magnitude; hence, no proven system exists  in  the  country  to  provide  early  earthquake  warning.  The National  Centre  for Seismology (NCS) under the Ministry is monitoring the earthquakes occurring in and around  the  country  through  its  seismological  network.  Further,  provides  precise earthquake information soon after an earthquake, including location, date, and time of occurrence, and magnitude. Also, an intensity map is generated and populated on the public platform, indicating the likely variation of ground shaking from the epicentral region  to  surrounding  areas.  These  details  are  made  available  to  various  disaster management authorities, other stakeholders, and the public as soon as possible through the NCS-MoES website, app, SMS, FAX, e-mail, WhatsApp, X, and Facebook.

The Central Water Commission (CWC) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) is mandated to issue short-range flood forecasts with a lead time of up to 24 hours to concerned State Governments at identified locations. Timely flood forecasts are being issued when a certain threshold limit is reached. CWC is currently providing a sevenday advisory flood forecast on its web portal https://aff.india-water.gov.in/  through pan-India rainfall-based mathematical modeling for major river basins of the country. CWC  takes  immense  steps  and  adopts  various  dissemination  mechanisms  to  get maximum reach to the flood warnings produced, so that mitigation measures can be adopted by State Governments, SDMA, NDMA, and the public. The flood forecasts formulated by CWC are disseminated to all stakeholders through the Flood Forecasting Website (https://ffs.india-water.gov.in/)/FloodWatch India 2.0 App/Email/Whatsapp/Facebook-CWCOfficial.FF/X-CWCOfficial\_FF, Youtube-CWC Flood updates, and CAP Alert through the NDMA Sachet portal. The CWC developed the  "Flood  Watch  India"  mobile  App,  which  was  launched  on  17th  August  2023. Further, a C-FLOOD is a web-based platform, developed and inaugurated on 2nd July 2025, which provides two-day advance inundation forecasts up to village level in the form of flood inundation maps and water level predictions.

- (c)-(e)  IMD has a 3-tier (National, Regional, and State levels) early warning system for the monitoring and forecasting of severe weather events at different parts of the country. Accordingly, at the State level, IMD issues impact-based weather forecasts and riskbased  warnings  regularly  from  the  designated  Regional  Meteorological  Centres (RMCs) and Meteorological Centres (MCs).

The Ministry has developed advanced early warning systems for severe weather events, including cyclones, heavy rainfall, etc. These systems are supported by a state-of-theart  observation  network  comprising  surface  and  upper-air  observations,  remote sensing,  high-resolution  dynamical  models,  and  an  end-to-end  GIS-based  Decision Support System (DSS) developed by MoES institutions, which serves as the front end for early warning systems to enable detection and monitoring of weather hazards across the country. The system is integrated with modern telecommunications technologies to ensure the timely dissemination of information. Effective dissemination methods for weather information and alerts by the MoES are as follows:

-  Public  alerts  and  information  are  disseminated  through  mobile  applications such as MAUSAM, MEGHDOOT, DAMINI, and UMANG.
-  Digital dissemination channels include e-mail and SMS-based nowcasting and forecasting alerts to registered users.
-  Alerts  are  issued  through  the  Common  Alerting  Protocol  (CAP)  and  the SACHET App.
-  Information is shared via social media and mass media platforms.
-  District  Collectors  are  informed  through  direct  e-mail  and  WhatsApp  group notifications, in coordination with the State Governments.
-  Broadcast  dissemination  is  carried  out  through  community  radio,  public broadcasting systems, and other local communication networks.
-  Dissemination is also undertaken through State Government mobile applications.
-  Gram  Panchayat-level  weather  forecasting  (GPLWF)  is  facilitated  through digital platforms such as e-Gramswaraj, Meri Panchayat App, and e-Manchitra, in collaboration with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
-  Weather information is disseminated to Pashu Sakhi and Krishi Sakhi at the block  and  Panchayat  levels  in  collaboration  with  the  Ministry  of  Rural Development.
-  Forecasts are accessible through the Mausamgram  portal  of  the India Meteorological Department.

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