Every March 23rd marks the celebration of World Meteorological Day, a global event that commemorates the founding of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1950. This international intergovernmental organization, based in Geneva, Switzerland, has 192 Member States and Territories, one of which is India. The WMO evolved from its predecessor, the International Meteorological Organization (IMO). The WMO focuses on meteorological matters such as weather and climate patterns, operational hydrology, and associated geophysical sciences.
The Significance of World Meteorological Day
Celebrated since 1961, the World Meteorological Day serves as a tool for raising public awareness about the crucial role humans play in protecting the Earth’s atmosphere. The theme for 2022, “Early warning and early action,” underlines the pressing need for accurate hydrometeorological and climate information for effective disaster risk mitigation.
State of Disasters: Global and Indian Perspective
Over the past 50 years, weather, climate, or water hazard-related disasters have occurred daily, causing significant loss of life and financial losses. The WMO Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970 – 2019) indicates that more than 11,000 such disasters have occurred worldwide.
These incidences have surged fivefold over the last half-century due to several factors, including climate change, intensified severe weather events, and better reporting methodologies. In India, the frequency of severe cyclones over the Arabian Sea has risen, and maximum temperatures have seen a noticeable increase since 1901. Alongside temperature changes, there has also been a substantial increase in heavy rainfall events across India.
Initiatives for Disaster Management on WMO Day
The WMO intends to introduce an action plan for early warning systems at the 27th Conference of Parties (CoP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Egypt in November 2022. This system aims at alerting people about hazardous weather conditions and providing them with guidelines for mitigating the potential impacts of such events.
However, it is worth noting that early warning coverage is not equally distributed worldwide. For instance, a third of the global population, primarily in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), lack access to these systems, while in Africa, the situation is even worse with 60% of people without coverage.
State of Early Warning System in India
India has implemented several early warning systems that have proven successful in saving lives. The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) regular cyclone alerts, combined with rapid action by state and district administrations, have been particularly effective.
Several initiatives have been launched to improve this framework, such as the Integrated Flood Warning system for Mumbai (iFLOWS-MUMBAI) and the ‘Uttarakhand Earthquake Alert’ app. Moreover, the government has worked on promoting ocean research and setting up early warning weather systems under the ‘Ocean Services, Modelling, Application, Resources and Technology (O-SMART)’ Scheme.
Despite these efforts, more work remains to be done, especially regarding local-level weather prediction and early warning.
Way Forward
Enhanced coordination between national meteorological and hydrological services, disaster management authorities, and development agencies is vital for improved prevention, preparedness, and response. Investment needs to be ramped up to upgrade the quality of services and related infrastructures, especially in LDC and SIDS countries.
