English - Agricultural Meteorology Division

AGROMETEOROLOGICAL SERVICES IN INDIA
Agricultural Meteorology Division
Weather and Agriculture
Indian agriculture has, for centuries, been solely dependant
on the weather and the vagaries of the monsoon in particular.
Uncertainties of weather and climate pose a major threat to
food security of the country. Extreme weather events like
heavy rains, cyclone, hail storm, dry spells, drought, heat
wave, cold wave and frost causes considerable loss in crop
production every year. An efficient use of available climatic
resources, besides soil & water resources, minimizes the
adverse effect of extreme weather and makes benefit of
favourable weather. Weather services provide a very special
kind of inputs to the farmer as advisories that can make a
tremendous difference to the agriculture production by taking
the advantage of benevolent weather and minimize the
adverse impact of malevolent weather.
Government of India
Ministry of Earth Sciences
India Meteorological Department
Collaborating agencies under IAAS
Agricultural Meteorology Division,
India Meteorological Department, Pune
Weather Service to Agriculture
State Agricultural Universities (SAU)
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and its
Research Institutes
Indian Institute of Technology
State and Union Departments of Agriculture
Prasar Bharati and other media (Radio, TV and Print)
In order to provide direct services to the farming community
of the country an exclusive Division of Agricultural
Meteorology was set up in 1932 under the umbrella of India
Meteorological Department (IMD) at Pune with the objective
to minimize the impact of adverse weather on crops and to
make use of favourable weather to boost agricultural
production.
The major activities of the Division are:
• Technical Assistance
• Research & Development
• Services
• Human Resource Development
Network of Observatories
The Division of Agricultural Meteorology maintains and
provides technical support to a wide range of Agromet
Observatories from where different kinds of data on agromet
parameters are generated.
Integrated Agromet Advisory Services
To meet the farmer’s need in real-time and to have a state-ofart
Agromet Advisory Service (AAS), Integrated Agromet
Advisory Service in the country involving all the concerned
organizations viz., Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture (Centre & State), State
Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and other agencies has been
started from April 2007.
Central Agricultural Meteorological Observatory (CAgMO)

IMD’s Central Agricultural Meteorological Observatory located
at Pune, is equipped with a wide range of instruments for
measurement of agrometeorological parameters like
evaporation, soil temperature, soil moisture, radiation fluxes,
dew, microclimatic profiles, besides routine meteorological
observations. The observatory also serves as the testing
ground for new instruments and experimental techniques.
There are 264 agromet observatories in the country to record
agrometeorological parameters.
Pan Evaporimeter
Evapotranspiration (ET) in
plant environment is measured
by means of lysimeters at 42
stations. This helps to
determine the water
requirements of crops. There
are 9 volumetric and 33
gravimetric ET observatories.
219 USA open pan evaporimeters
are installed to record evaporation.
Lysimeter
Types of AAS Bulletins
AAS Bulletins are issued from three levels:
National Levels by National Agromet Advisory Service
Centre, Agrimet Division, IMD,Pune.
State Levels by State Agromet Service Centre at Regional
Meteorological Centre/Meteorological Centre (23)
District Level by Agromet Field Units (130)
District level Agromet Advisory bulletins are issued for the
farmers, State Level Composite AAS Bulletins are for State
level planners e.g. State Crop Weather Watch Group (CWWG)
and other users like Fertiliser industry, Pesticide industry,
Irrigation Department, Seed Corporation, Transport and other
organisations which provide inputs in agriculture and National
Agromet Advisory Bulletin are primarily targeted for national
level planners e.g. CWWG, Department of Agriculture &
Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi and also
communicated to all the related Ministries (State & Central),
Organizations, NGOs for their use.
Network of stations under IAAS
There are 43 soil moisture recording stations. Soil moisture at
different depths (7.5, 15, 30, 45, 60 cm) of the soil is recorded
from 43 stations to formulate irrigation scheduling of crops.
Dew Gauge
Beside rainfall, dewfall is one of
secondary source of moisture
available to the crops. It plays
significant role in plant growth
particularly in arid and semi arid
regions. Total 76 stations are
recording dew observations.
The data recorded in the above mentioned observatories are
being utilized for operational services such as advising the
farmers through Agromet Advisory Services. Besides a
number of organizations utilize the data for research, irrigation
and water resources planning, management of drought, flood
etc.
Network of SMC UNITS(23)
It is proposed to install 127 Agrometeorological Automatic
Weather Stations (AWS) at Agrometeorological Field Units
(AMFU’s) located at State Agriculture Universities (SAUs),
institutes of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR),
Indian Institute of Technology under Integrated Agromet
Advisory Services (IAAS). Installation of Agro-AWS is also
under consideration in all the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) in
the country.
Network of AMFU STATIONS(130)
Main features of AAS bulletin :
Significant past weather
Quantitative weather forecast for next five days.
Advisories for farming community
AWS at Mailam (Tamil Nadu)
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Joint Meeting at SAMC for preparation of State Composite bulletin

Broad Spectrum of Agromet Advisories
Sowing/ transplanting of kharif crops based on onset of
monsoon
Sowing of rabi crops using residual soil moisture
Fertilizer application based on wind condition
Delay in fertilizer application based on intensity of rain
Prediction of occurrence of pest and disease based on
weather
Propylactive measures at appropriate time to eradicate pest
and diseases
Weeding/Thinning at regular interval for better growth and
development for crop.
Irrigation at critical stage of the crop.
Quantum and timing of irrigation using meteorological
threshold.
Advisories for timely harvest of crops
District Level AAS based on Medium Range
Weather Forecast
IMD has started issuing quantitative district level (612
districts) weather forecast upto 5 days from 1 st June, 2008.
The products comprise of quantitative forecasts for 7 weather
parameters viz., rainfall, maximum and minimum
temperatures, wind speed and direction, relative humidity and
cloudiness. In addition, weekly cumulative rainfall forecast is
also provided. IMD, New Delhi generates these products
based on a Multi Model Ensemble technique using forecast
products available from number of models of India and other
countries. These include: T-254 model of NCMRWF, T-799
model of European Centre for Medium Range Weather
Forecasting (ECMWF); United Kingdom Met Office (UKMO),
National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), USA
and Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
The products are disseminated to Regional Meteorological
Centres and Meteorological Centres of IMD located in
different States. These offices undertake value addition to
these products and communicate to 130 AgroMet Field Units
(AMFUs). It is proposed to prepare and publish the AAS
bulletins for all the districts by December 2009.
The district level agromet advisory service is multidisciplinary
and multi-institutional project. For this, IMD organized District
Agromet Advisory Service meeting in each of the state of the
country inviting the officers/ scientists and all the stakeholders
with objectives to create appropriate information generationcum-dissemination
mechanism as well as extension
mechanism at district level for communicating the agromet
advisory to the farmers.
Dissemination of Advisories
Dissemination of Agromet advisories is done through:
1. All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan
2. Private TV and radio channels
3. Newspaper
4. Internet
5. ICAR and other related Institutes / Agricultural Universities /
Extension network of State / Central Agriculture Departments
6. Krishi Vigyan Kendras
7. Advisories are delivered to the end users without any delay.
8. Interactive tuning of advisories with the farmers / managers as
frequently as possible.
9. It is disseminated in English and local languages / dialects and
is easily understandable by farmers.
Outreach of advisories at District/Block/Village level
Linkages between Districts Agricultural Offices (DAOs) and
AMFUs level are being developed for effective dissemination of
advisories at district, block and village levels.
Extension of Advisories
Extension wing of the State Departments of Agriculture, State
Agricultural Universities, Indian Council of Agricultural
Research Institutes are working for application of the advisories
in the farmer’s fields.
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Feedback & Awareness of Agromet Service
In order to improve the quality of the agromet advisory services,
regular direct interactions are being made by the AMFUs with the
farmers, AMFUs, State AAS units and Agrimet Division are
regularly participating in Kisan Melas farmer’s gathering etc to
interact with the farmers personally and collect the feedback from
farmers. Roving seminars are being organized in different States
by AMFUs to create awareness about usefulness of
weather/climate information, agromet advisory services among the
farming community.
Crop Yield Forecasting
A need for quantitative crop yield forecast outlooks has been felt
for quite sometime. A beginning towards its realization has been
made by undertaking a study of past crop yield in relation to
meteorological parameters, principally rainfall and temperature.
Based on these studies quantitative crop yield forecast formulae
have been developed for 22 sub divisions in the country for
kharif rice and 9 sub divisions for wheat. The tentative forecast
for crop yield is being issued every month during the crop
season using this methodology.
Research & Development
From the inception the Agrimet Division is working on research
and development programmes to strengthen the operational
agrometeorological services in the country.
Microclimatic Study
The study of microclimate of crops was one of earliest
investigation to be taken by the Agricultural Meteorology Division
in Pune since 1932. The subject of micro-climates received
intensive attention and significant contributions have been made in
this field of research. Research activity in the field of
microclimatology was carried out extensively by various personnel
from IMD as well as others. Systematic observations on the
characteristic micro-climates of the air layers close to the ground
in the open and inside various crops have been recorded, and a
large volume of micro-climatological data collected.
Agroclimatic Classification
In order to bring out agricultural potential of a region, its
agroclimatic classification has to be made Considerable work has
been done on agroclimatic classification. Agroclimatic zones have
been delineated using Thornthwaite moisture availability index
and other methods. Penman method has been used to estimate
evapotranspiration of about 230 stations located in India. These
estimates are used to compute water balance of these stations in
India and ultimately agroclimatic classification.
Adverse weather phenomena
The Agricultural Meteorology Division has made a detailed
examination and prepared suitable diagrams of the
frequencies of occurrence of various adverse weather
phenomena (like hail storms, frosts, etc.) that affect growing
crops, extremes of temperature met with in summer and
winter, estimated evaporating power of the atmosphere etc.
Such diagrams help to show how often the farmer may be
called upon to mitigate the effects of adverse weather
phenomena by resorting to possible protective measures like
artificial heating, use of wind brakes etc.
Vine affected by frost
at Nasik
Wind break of jowar stalks
in vine garden
Cropping patterns
By analyzing the rainfall records of 2000 stations for 70 years, the
periods and amounts of “assured rainfall” have been worked out
for various regions particularly in the dry farming tract of India. The
length of dry spells and wet spells during the monsoon, drought
proneness and agro-climatic classifications have also been
studied with climatological data. This information is helpful in
choosing appropriate crops for various regions, determining the
most favourable growing seasons for rainfed crops and selecting
drought tolerant crop strains.
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Sowing dates
Optimum dates for sowing have been determined for the States of
Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, by using
daily rainfall data from 1901 onwards. Such information helps in
deciding the best period for sowing operations, water conservation
measures and evolution of appropriate cropping patterns.
Water use management
Considerable research has been done on the weather conditions
conducive to outbreaks of crop pests and disease like paddy
stem borer, jowar shoot fly, cotton bollworm, sugarcane borers,
groundnut tikka, potato beetle and wheat rusts. The results help
to organize timely crop protection measures with optimum use of
expensive chemicals. The desert locust breeding and invasion
has been extensively studied in relation to soil and weather
conditions.
Drought Studies
Even in those parts of the country where irrigation facilities exist,
the crop production can be maximized by better scheduling of
irrigation. Scarce resources can be economically used by providing
water to crops when it is known to be most beneficial. For this,
precise water requirements of crops at various growth stages are
being studied through field experiments and regular lysimeter
measurements of evapotranspiration.
Remote sensing applications
Satellite remote sensing techniques have been used for acreage
estimation of jowar. Spectral response of crops at various growth
stages and states are studied to help crop identification. Soil
moisture studies using micro-wave remote sensing technique were
made.
By analyzing rainfall data since 1875, the probability of
occurrence of drought in various parts of India has been worked
out. Different parameters like water availability, soil moisture
stress, aridity index have been studied. Droughts are monitored
by deriving aridity anomalies on a fortnightly basis in the kharif
season and weekly basis in the northeast monsoon season over
the southern peninsula.
Crop weather analysis
Theoretical models of crop weather relationship enable to
understand, quantitatively, the role played by weather elements on
crop growth and yield. Variability of soil moisture and soil
temperature and the contribution of dew have been studied in
relation to crop growth. Fluctuations in weather with regard to crop
factors like leaf area index, stomatal resistance, crop coefficient,
and dry matter production have been studied. Energy balance of
the crop canopy for cereals and legumes are being worked out. A
number of crop weather calendars were prepared based on crop
weather studies. Crop growth simulation models (DSSAT) are
being used to develop crop weather relation as well as crop yield
forecasting.
Crop protection
Dry Land Farming
The area having annual rainfall between 40-100 cm and
practically with no irrigation facilities is known as dry farming
tract. Dry farming tract comprise 87 districts and is spread over
Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and
Tamilnadu. Extensive research was carried out on assessment
of short period rainfall probability, compilation of frequency,
duration and intensity of dry and wet spells, assessment and
seasonal and diurnal variation of meteorological parameters,
derivation of agroclimatic zones and sub-zones.
Pest Observation in experimental fields of Agricultural University
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Training Programmes in the Division
Following training programmes for national and international
training for Agromet Observers, University Teachers /
Departmental officers & foreign personnel are regularly
arranged in the Division.
Delineation of zones (A, B, C, D) of similar peak rainfall period and
areas (I, II, III) of average rainfall receiving during the period.
Weather and Phenology of Crops
Phenology is the science which deals with the recurrence of
the important phases of animal and vegetable life in relation
to the march of seasons during the year. The dates of
manifestation of phytophase constitute an integral of climatic
effects as they take into account the weather over past
periods and also the weather at the moment. Studies were
made to observe the effect on climatic factors on the
flowering, fruiting and maturity of four trees i.e., mango,
neem, tamarind and babul. The observations were taken
about 200 phenological stations located in the Agricultural
Farms, Soil Conservation Centre and Meteorological
Stations.
Agrometerorological observations with state of art
instruments
A number of experiments using portable photosynthesis system,
infra-red thermometer, portable leaf area meter, dew point
generator and dew point microvoltmeter were conducted at
College of Agriculture, Pune during rabi season on impact of CO 2,
photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), temperature and relative
humidity on the rate of photosynthesis and other parameters like
transpiration, stomatal conductance, etc., in field crops like maize,
jowar, safflower, sunflower, mustard and soybean
1. Foreign Trainees’ course of 6 months duration.
2. Agromet Core course of 3 weeks duration for teachers &
scientists of Agricultural Universities / Institutes.
3. Observers course of 3 weeks duration for recording
observation.
4. Departmental Trainees (Grade ‘A’ officers) – courses of 10
months duration in Agricultural Meteorology.
5. On the job training for advanced(revised) meteorological
course trainees
6. Basic Agromet course of 3 weeks for Departmental
candidates
7. Refresher course of 2-3 weeks for Departmental/non –
departmental Officers
So far 729 Agromet Observers, 43 University Teachers /
Departmental officers & 72 foreign personnel have been
trained in Agricultural Meteorology.
Future Programme
Proposed modes of dissemination
Dissemination through Common Service Centres (CSC) by
DIT
1. Department of Information Technology (DIT) is planning to
develop ICT facilities for the benefit of the citizens, especially
those in rural & remote areas. 1,00,000 CSC will be set up at
village level shortly to provide all possible services. Among
others, Agromet services will also be provided through the
CSCs.
2. Ministry of Agriculture is already operating "Agricultural
Technology Management Agency (ATMA)" project in several
districts on the line of NGO concept.
Observation with leaf Area
Meter
Dew Point Generator
Dew Point Microvoltmeter
Microvoltmeter
3. It is also planned to provide AAS link to Village Knowledge
Centers at taluka level that have already been opened by
M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation & Alliance for
providing the need based information at village level.
4. Under Integrated Agromet Advisory Service (IAAS)
scheme, IMD is exploring to tie up with different public and
private organizations to use IVR and SMS technology which
are already working in dissemination of agricultural
information to the rural village.
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Fasal Project
Crop yield forecasting under FASAL (Forecasting Agricultural
output using Space, Agrometeorology and Land based
observations) project with greater accuracy in collaboration with
Department of Space & Department of Agriculture and
Cooperation is proposed to be implemented with the following
objectives.
Development of national / state / district level multiple crop
yield forecast for major crops.
Crop yield forecast would be issued at mid season (F1) and
pre-harvest stages (F2) of crop
A number of crop yield forecast models would be developed
and made operational after validation
Generation of Agromet products
Efforts are on to make agromet advisory more users’ oriented and
adequate steps are being taken to develop customized
information and service to the farmers. Special initiative has taken
to generate agromet products for pesticides application fertilizer
application, application of Irrigation etc. from weather, crop, soil,
remote sensing data etc. using GIS platform and high power
computing system. The project is being implemented in
collaboration with Met France International (MFI)
Economic Impact of AAS
Department of Science & Technology (DST) launched a project in
2003 to study the Economic Impact of AAS of NCMRWF. The
project was given to 15 AAS units Duration was 3 years covering
3 kharif and 3 rabi seasons. National Centre for Agricultural
Economics & Policy Research (NCAP) was given consultancy for
preparing concept note, questionnaire, methodology and final
review of the reports prepared by the AAS unit/NCMRWF. It is
observed that farmers could save significant loss of crop and
made their farming profitable by using the AAS. It is being
planned to extend such studies for more number of years and
more number of stations under IAAS.
Network of stations that carried out the Economic Impact study
Generation of Advisories for New Sectors
A large number of farming systems are not adequately addressed
by the existing AAS. Hence, there is a strong need to develop
suitable products for these sectors and incorporate them in the
advisory bulletins. Advisory for Horticultural Crops, livestock,
wasteland and forest fires, post harvest and storage.
Establishment of fast communication system
It is proposed to create a state of art telecommunication system
for inter-linking National HQ of Agro-met Advisory Services with
SAMC, AMFUs. The telecommunication system will be capable to
transfer imageries, weather charts, products and bulletins in all
weather situations. It is proposed to include Virtual Private
Network (VPN) Service in the present system. The VPN is
capable to allow free flow of information and quick data transfer.
Launching of comprehensive programme on R & D
Department of Science & Technology (DST) had been funding
research projects in Agrometeorology with focus on crop-weather
modeling, impact of climate variations and change on agriculture
and also in support of weather-based agromet advisory services.
After the formation of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), this
programme has now been transferred from DST to MoES/IMD.
The scheme would be operated in different phases in IMD as well
as collaborating organizations/institutes.
Being the nodal office IMD would give projects to different
agricultural universities/institutes and in turn the outputs of the
study would be used for generation of agromet products for the
crop and location specific agromet advisories
Proposed Training for Agromet Advisory Services
A number of training programmes will be organized for those who
are directly and indirectly involved in the AAS’ These are:
1. Weather forecast based AAS to Technical Officers
2. Crop/ P&D models and Decision Support System
3. NWP based local weather forecast techniques
4. Use of Remote Sensing and GIS in AAS
5. Outreach Programme
6. Provision of adequate training for the end-users
Agri-insurance
The weather is the greatest adversary as farmers face floods,
drought, pests, disease, and a plethora of other natural disasters
while raising the crops. Crop insurance, which has been
functioning for quite some time in India, is a risk management tool
that farmers can use. The sector is still evolving and not highly
developed. Hence, there is scope for further improvement. Efforts
are being made to generate meteorological requirements for agriinsurance
in consultations with the concerned organizations.
Organisation of Roving Seminars
It is proposed to organize one day Roving Seminar on Weather,
Climate and Farmers in different agro-climates of the country to
sensitize farmers about the weather and climate information and
it’s applications in operational farm management. The seminar is
proposed to be organized jointly by India Meteorological
Department (Ministry of Earth Sciences), Indian Council of
Agriculture Research and State Agricultural Universities. Local
NGOs and other stake holders may also be roped in this occasion
depending upon the local needs and interests.
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Use of Remote Sensing techniques in preparation of
Agro-met Advisory
It is of utmost importance to enhance the quality and usefulness
of the agro meteorological services utilizing the data received
from Remote Sensing Satellite like IRS. Many agencies viz.,
Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, National Remote
Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad etc., have developed
techniques based on Remote Sensing for crop acreage and yield
estimation, crop condition assessment of major crops and
assessment of drought conditions in some selected states during
kharif season. It is proposed to use remote sensing data in
agromet service through collaboration with Department of Space.
Technical Assistance
The Agricultural Meteorology Division has been providing
assistance to various Agricultural Universities & State
Departments of Agriculture & Agricultural Research Institutes to
set up a Agrometeorological Observatory within the agricultural
farm by way of selection of sites, testing & standardization,
installation, repairing & periodical inspection of meteorological
instruments.
The collaborating universities/institutes supply the Agromet data to
IMD. Data received from Agromet Observatories are scrutinized,
tabulated & transferred on magnetic tapes for archival. The same
are being supplied to the research workers & other interested
parties as & when requisitioned.
Publication
The Division has brought out following nine publications.
1. Weekly Rainfall Probability for Selected Stations of India
(Vol.I and II):
2. Crop Weather Calendars
3. Weekly Potential Evapotranspiration over India:
4. Dew Deposition over India
5. Normals of Agroclimatic Observatories in India
6. Evaporation Maps of India
7. Agroclimatic Atlas of India
8. Evapotranspiration
9. Evaporation Data of Observatories in India
Besides, there are about 500 research papers published from this
Division in National and International Journals.
Editorial Team :
Dr. L. S. Rathore, Dr. R.P. Samui, Dr. N. Chattopadhyay
Published by
Agricultural Meteorology Division, India Meteorological Department, Shivajinagar, Pune – 411 005.
Tel. Fax : (020) 25535953 / 25512022 / 25512023
Website : www.imdagrimet.gov.in
Emails : agrimet_pune@yahoo.com and agrimet_information@yahoo.com
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