New Delhi: India Meteorological Department Two new services were launched on Tuesday, including an AI-powered advance monsoon forecasting system that will provide information on seasonal rainfall progression and “local weather information” four weeks in advance to support farmers across 16 states and over 3,000 divisions.The second product, launched as a pilot service, will provide high-resolution spatial rainfall forecasts for Uttar Pradesh. It can leverage a dense observation network and artificial intelligence technology to generate rainfall forecasts with a resolution of 1 kilometer up to 10 days in advance. As the observation infrastructure continues to develop, similar services will gradually be expanded to other parts of the country.The pilot system uses advanced artificial intelligence-driven downscaling technology and integrates data from automated rain gauges, automated weather stations, Doppler weather radar and satellite rainfall data sets.Hyper-local forecast information will also be relayed through displays installed at vegetable and other markets, besides using different modes including mobile apps, SMS alerts, WhatsApp, Kisan portal, other digital platforms and television.Union Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh said the products marked a major shift from traditional weather forecasts to impact- and decision-support-based forecasts, providing “precise, site-specific and actionable information” to farmers, managers, disaster managers and citizens.
