Jammu Gets Regional Meteorological Centre to Strengthen Weather Forecasting

Dr. Singh highlighted the rapid growth of meteorological infrastructure in the region over the past decade.

India's weather forecasting network has expanded with the inauguration of a new Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Jammu, a move expected to significantly improve weather monitoring and disaster preparedness across Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.

Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the facility on Friday and announced that another Regional Meteorological Centre will soon be established in Lucknow as part of the government's efforts to strengthen regional forecasting capabilities. The Jammu centre becomes India's seventh Regional Meteorological Centre and will focus on delivering weather services tailored to the unique challenges of the Himalayan region. The facility will provide district-level forecasts, mountain weather updates, tourist advisories and city-specific forecasts, along with early warnings for flash floods, avalanches, cloudbursts, landslides, heavy snowfall and thunderstorms.

The services are expected to benefit pilgrims travelling to Amarnath and Vaishno Devi shrines, farmers, transport operators, hydropower projects, disaster management agencies and security personnel working in difficult terrain.

Weather Infrastructure Expands Across Jammu and Kashmir

Dr. Singh highlighted the rapid growth of meteorological infrastructure in the region over the past decade. He noted that Jammu & Kashmir had no Doppler Weather Radar in 2014, while four such radars are now operational at Jammu, Srinagar, Leh and Banihal Top. Under the Centre's Mission Mausam programme, five additional Doppler Weather Radars have been proposed for Anantnag, Rajouri, Baramulla, Kishtwar and Doda.

The weather observation network has also expanded significantly. The region currently operates 56 observatories, including manual stations, Automatic Weather Stations (AWSs) and Automatic Rain Gauges (ARGs). This represents a substantial increase from the infrastructure available a decade ago. New Automatic Weather Stations have recently been installed in Kargil, Ukhral in Ramban district and at the Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan. Several more weather stations and rain gauges are expected to become operational during the current financial year.

The Daily Rainfall Monitoring Scheme has also grown considerably, with monitoring stations increasing from 30 in 2014 to 85 at present, improving the accuracy of rainfall forecasting and weather assessments.

New Forecasting System to Improve Disaster Preparedness

The establishment of RMC Jammu marks a significant reorganisation of the India Meteorological Department's regional operations. Until now, weather services for several northern states, including Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, were coordinated through the Regional Meteorological Centre in Delhi. With the new arrangement, Jammu will oversee weather forecasting and climate services for Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, while the proposed Lucknow centre will handle Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Dr Singh also announced that Kishtwar, which experienced a major disaster last year, will receive both an Automatic Weather Station and a new seismological observatory to strengthen monitoring and early warning systems. The Minister highlighted progress in earthquake monitoring, noting that seismic stations across Jammu & Kashmir have been upgraded with digital technology and are now transmitting near real-time data to the National Centre for Seismology.

He also pointed to growing scientific collaboration in the region, including partnerships between meteorological institutions and universities, as well as the High-Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory at Patnitop, which supports research on clouds and aerosols in the Himalayas.

According to Dr. Singh, the expanded network and customised forecasting services will help communities, tourists and authorities respond more effectively to weather-related hazards while strengthening disaster management capabilities across the region.