India 2018

Scientific and Technological Developments 493
complex interaction. The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) holistically
addresses all the aspects relating the earth system science for providing weather,
climate, ocean, coastal state, hydrological and seismological services. The
services include forecasts and warnings for various natural disasters. The
services provided are being effectively used by different agencies and state
governments for saving human lives and minimizing damages due to natural
disasters.
Atmospheric and Climate Research
A high resolution global deterministic weather prediction model was
commissioned for generating operational weather forecasts at a horizontal
resolution of 12 km. With this, MoES has attained the same capability as in USA
in using high resolution weather prediction models. Many major improvements
have been made in data assimilation for the ingestion of data from the Indian
and International satellites in numerical models.
Under the Monsoon Mission, operational dynamical model systems have
been implemented for extended range and seasonal forecasts. For the first time,
forecasts on different time scales during the hot weather season (April to May)
including heat waves were issued by the India Meteorological Department.
Improved Weather and Cyclone Predictions
The quality of weather services has shown appreciable improvements during
the past three years. Specifically, noticeable improvements were achieved in
prediction skills of heavy rainfall and tropical cyclones such as Phailin, Hudhud
and Vardah and the heavy rainfall events in Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir
and recently in Chennai. For the cyclone, Vardah, which had caused severe
damages in the city of Chennai and neighbourhood, accurate predictions were
provided almost three days in advance, helping to save thousands of lives. The
loss of lives during the last three years due to tropical cyclones has reduced to
less than hundred as compared to the thousands during the previous decade.
Agro-Meteorological Advisory Services
The Ministry in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR) provides the Agromet Advisory Services (AAS) for the benefit of
farmers. Farmers make use of these services for planning the operations like
sowing, irrigation, application of fertilizer and pesticide, harvest and protection
of crops from wather disasters. The services carried out at 130 agro-met zones
(cluster of 4-6 districts) now have been successfully extended to the district
level and operated across 608 districts of the country. Currently, about 21.69
million farmers are receiving crop specific agro-meteorological advisories in
vernacular languages.
Forecasts for Heat and Cold Waves
With global warming, surface air temperatures are expected to further increase
and frequency of heat waves may also increase. To provide adequate warnings