SRINAGAR: The Government of India has unveiled a series of new initiatives aimed at strengthening the country’s climate preparedness, with a particular focus on advanced forecasting, disaster management, and exploration of underwater resources.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh, told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the flagship initiative, Mission Mausam, has been launched under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) with the goal of making India “weather-ready and climate-smart.” The mission seeks to mitigate the impact of climate change and extreme weather events while strengthening the resilience of communities across the country. Alongside it, several steps have also been taken to enhance early warning systems and improve weather and climate forecasts.
The Ministry has also established the Climate Research and Services (CRS) division under the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Pune. In October 2023, CRS organised a stakeholder workshop to develop the National Framework of Climate Service (NFCS). The workshop reviewed the progress made in consolidating climate services in India, sought inputs from stakeholders across climate-sensitive sectors, assessed existing national capacities, and identified needs and priorities for developing climate information products tailored for decision-making. The consultation also focused on preparing a comprehensive mapping of existing institutions and their contributions, and on drafting a joint action plan to establish NFCS-India.
Under Mission Mausam, efforts are being made to expand the observational network and deploy next-generation technologies to enhance weather and climate predictions. This includes the adoption of high-resolution models, the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning into climate projections, and the use of high-performance computing infrastructure. These measures are expected to improve the country’s capability in climate forecasting, disaster management, and early warning systems by delivering precise, localised forecasts across various timescales.
IMD has also adopted a Multi-Model Ensemble (MME) approach since 2021 to improve the accuracy of monthly and seasonal rainfall and temperature forecasts. This approach enables more detailed outlooks for extreme weather events such as heatwaves and cold waves. In addition, the IMD now issues State-wise Annual Climate Statements alongside the National Annual Climate Summary, providing more granular data on climate trends.
A major leap forward in India’s forecasting capabilities came with the unveiling of the Bharat Forecasting System (BharatFS), described as the world’s highest-resolution operational weather model operating on a six-kilometre grid. This model allows highly localised forecasts down to the block and panchayat level and significantly improves predictions of thunderstorms, lightning, heavy rain, hailstorms, and heatwaves. BharatFS is expected to play a vital role in agriculture planning, disaster response, and community-level preparedness.
On the question of collaborations, Singh said the Government is working with international agencies and private sector partners to exchange expertise and technology in climate preparedness. Outreach initiatives have also been expanded. For instance, the MoES published the open-access book Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region, while the IMD and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology continue to develop public tools and disseminate climate data to improve awareness and preparedness at the community level.
Alongside climate initiatives, Singh confirmed that the Government is also pushing ahead with the Deep Ocean Mission (DoM), designed to explore India’s underwater wealth as a potential driver of economic growth. India has two seabed exploration contracts with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in the Indian Ocean—one signed in 2002 for polymetallic nodules across 75,000 sq km in the Central Indian Ocean Basin, and another signed in 2016 for polymetallic sulphides across 10,000 sq km in the Indian Ocean Ridge. These minerals include valuable resources such as copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc, silver, and gold.
Seabed mineral exploration under the mission remains at the exploratory stage, involving surveys, environmental impact assessments, technology development, and metallurgical studies. Recent achievements include the development of manned submersible technology, collection of over 100 kg of cobalt-rich nodules from a depth of 1,173 metres in the Andaman Sea, the identification of two active hydrothermal vent fields in the Central Indian Ocean, and the development of vulnerability maps for coastal areas at risk from climate change.
The Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (Kochi) has also conducted six research cruises across the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, surveying underwater biodiversity on 19 seamounts. These expeditions have documented around 1,300 deep-sea organisms, carried out genomic studies, and identified 23 new species previously unknown to science. Similarly, the National Centre of Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, has discovered four active hydrothermal vent fields and two mineralised polymetallic sulphide zones in the Indian Ocean ridges.
The minister said that together, Mission Mausam and the Deep Ocean Mission reflect India’s determination to combine cutting-edge technology, research, and international collaboration to address the twin challenges of climate resilience and sustainable resource exploration.
