Kapil Sibal Launches Indiaweatherwatch

In view of the growing requirement of weather and climate related information for day-to-day activities and with a view to build alternate outreach mechanisms for publicizing weather warnings, raising awareness about weather, Department of Science & Technology has decided to set up a weather portal with its web site address "www.indiaweatherwatch.org". The portal has been launched by Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Ocean Development. The portal will disseminate current weather information for about 200 locations and five day forecasts for about 20 cities spread over the country. This information will be specially highlighted for the metros and major cities. The technical content will be based on forecasts given by the two major operational agencies under DST, viz., India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF). Climatological information and research products of the Indian Institute for Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune will be also used. Links have been provided to various other national and international institutions for further information.

The portal is positioned as a user friendly, application oriented, visually appealing and simply worded - one-stop basic weather information provider for public. In addition to the current weather and forecasts the portal will provide general and zone-wise weather bulletins with an exclusive page for severe weather events. Weekly agro-advisories will be provided for different agro-climatic zones with specific guidance on farm operations keeping in view the impending weather for the week. Continuing efforts will be made to make the language of the forecasts easy to understand and interpret for day-to-day needs. In due course, customized products based on demands received from various users, will also appear on this portal.

The portal will have facilities for users to provide feedback and ask questions to be responded by a panel of experts. This will be augmented with exclusive chat room sessions (discussion forum) with experts on chosen topics of wider interest. The portal also features a page with common questions about weather and allied areas. This will be dynamically built with additional questions and answers over time. Many users do not have enough knowledge on terminology and terms used by meteorologists in their day to day bulletins. These are explained under Glossary section of the portal.

Major beneficiaries of this portal could be general public, students, media, industries, tour & travel industry, etc. Although a modest beginning is made with the launch of the portal in its present form and format, a lot many new features will be added in due course. The portal has been designed and hosted by FICCI on public-private partnership.

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Source : Press Information Bureau
Date : April 19, 2006