Entire India to be covered by Doppler Radar by 2025: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh

Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and several other departments Dr Jitendra Singh on Sunday said that by 2025, the entire country will have a Doppler Weather Radar network, which will make more accurate predictions of extreme weather events.

He highlighted that under the present government, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has rapidly expanded the radar network from 15 in 2013 to 37 in 2023, and plans to add 25 more in the next 2-3 years.

He said that the IMD has augmented the Doppler Weather Radar network in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir and the enhanced radar network will help in more accurate prediction of extreme weather events.

dr. Singh dedicated four Doppler Weather Radar Systems to Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. He also dedicated 200 Agro Automated Weather Stations to the nation. He said that the government aims to set up 660 District Agricultural Meteorological Units (DAMUs) under agro-meteorological services by 2025. This has increased from 3,100 blocks in 2023 to 7,000 blocks in 2025.

The minister highlighted that the warning and advisory services provided by IMD are helping farmers and fishermen to improve their economy. A recent survey by the National Center for Applied Economic Research found that investment in the Monsoon Mission program resulted in a return of Rs 50 for every Re 1 invested.

The minister also said that the farmers below the poverty line have been especially greatly benefitted as the agromet advisory is effectively used by lakhs of farmers at the district and block level during various stages of cultivation, and the service is being extended being done.

The Web GIS services launched by IMD last year have been further enhanced by adding hazard and vulnerability elements in collaboration with other state and central agencies. The Minister said that it is helping the public, disaster managers and stakeholders to initiate timely response actions to reduce disasters.

Dr Singh further said that the accuracy for forecasting various severe weather events has increased by about 20-40% during the last five years.