Various meteorological agencies in India are coming together for a set of studies that they hope will advance climate-related policy in the country.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) are collaborating for the research.
An INCOIS official told the Times of India that the studies “will focus on developing clean energy applications, modern agricultural techniques, and natural resource mapping system among others.”
The official added: “In these fields, large investments are being made to improve observational systems and build more advanced models.”
The official said the studies will also focus on developing reliable forecasting stations and a full-proof disaster management system.
Climate science researchers told the Times of India that the studies were needed because at present there is very little India-specific research available to guide climate-related policy in the country.
According to climate experts India is already experiencing the effects of climate change. For example, this autumn the country’s annual monsoon dropped the highest amount of rainfall in more than 25 years, 10% above average.
This was in line with the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which noted that with climate change India’s monsoon seasons are “likely to intensify while becoming less predictable”.