Bharat Forecasting System, IMD & C-FLOOD

Why in news: The government unveiled the new “Bharat Forecasting System” (BFS) for improved weather prediction. The BFS is developed by the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).

• It will provide weather forecasts with a 6 km resolution, the highest in the world. The older model used 12-km grids. India is the only country to offer operational weather forecasts at 6 km x 6 km resolution.
• This will enable accurate and localised prediction of small-scale weather features.
• The BFS was made possible due to installation of the new supercomputer “Arka”.
• Improvements will be in short and medium-term forecasts (3 & 7 days), not in long-range (monthly) forecasts.
• New BFS system will not significantly improve forecasts of sudden thunderstorms. 34 Doppler Weather Radars (detect and track precipitation by emitting microwave pulses and measuring the Doppler effect, which reveals the velocity and movement of precipitation particles) are in process of being installed to enhance forecasting capability.

IMD:

• IMD was established in 1875 to centralise meteorological work, following the Calcutta cyclone (1864) and monsoon failures (1866, 1871). H. F. Blanford was 1st Meteorological Reporter; Sir John Eliot became 1st DG of Observatories in 1889. IMD's headquarters moved from Calcutta → Shimla → Pune → New Delhi.
• IMD launched Mission Mausam to upgrade weather observation and modeling, with Rs 2,000 crore outlay till 2026.
• IMD’s forecast accuracy for severe weather has improved by 50% since 2014; cyclone prediction improved from 1–3 days (2014) to 7 days (2024). Accuracy for 24-hour forecasts now: Heavy rainfall (80%), Thunderstorms (86%), Heat/Cold waves (88%).
• In 2024, IMD launched Panchayat Mausam Sewa, Mausam Gram, and a new decision support system integrating weather and socio-economic data.
• Doppler radar coverage increased from 13 in 2013 to 39 in 2024. To exceed 50 radars under Mission Mausam.

C-FLOOD (Unified Inundation Forecasting System):

• Web-based platform by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to enhance flood management capabilities. Provides two-day advance inundation forecasts down to the village level.
• It uses advanced 2-D hydrodynamic modelling to simulate flood scenarios. & runs on High-Performance Computing infrastructure at C-DAC Pune as part of the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
• 🟡 Alert: Inundation depth below 0.5m. 🟠 Alert: 0.5m and 1.5m. 🔴 Alert: Exceeding 1.5m.
• Developed by CWC, C-DAC, and NRSC under guidance of MeitY and DST. Coordination: Integrates with the NDEM portal for emergency response.