Parliament Question: Brahmaputra Flood Forecasting and Climate Resilience Mission

Key Highlights:

• The Union Cabinet approved Mission Mausam in 2024 to make India a "Weather-ready and Climate-smart" nation, including Assam.
• Central Water Commission (CWC) issues short-range flood forecasts with up to 24 hours lead time to states like Assam.
• CWC maintains 32 flood forecast stations in the Brahmaputra and Barak river basins in Assam.
• India Meteorological Department (IMD) utilizes 6 physical and 3 Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based numerical weather prediction models.
• IMD employs a multi-model ensemble technique and the Multi-Hazard Early Warning Decision Support System (MHEW-DSS) for forecasting.
• IMD provides services through 8 Regional Meteorological Centres (RMCs) and 25 Meteorological Centres (MCs), with RMC Guwahati serving the Northeast.

Detailed Insights:

• Mission Mausam aims to enhance the accuracy and spatial resolution of weather and climate predictions by strengthening observational networks.
• The mission also focuses on advancing high-resolution numerical weather prediction models and high-performance computing technologies.
• It seeks to improve the last-mile dissemination of weather and climate information, including timely early warnings for extreme events.
• CWC has developed AI/ML-based models for 12 flood forecast stations, with 8 of these located in the Brahmaputra basin in Assam.
• The Ministry of Earth Sciences continuously adopts advanced techniques and technologies to strengthen its severe weather monitoring and early warning capabilities.
• An extensive network of meteorological observatories across states and UTs supports continuous weather and climate data recording for forecasting services.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Mission Mausam: A Central Sector Scheme aimed at enhancing India's weather and climate prediction capabilities for resilience.
• Multi-Hazard Early Warning Decision Support System (MHEW-DSS): An integrated system providing warnings for multiple hazards to support informed decision-making.
• Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP): A method using mathematical models of the atmosphere and oceans to forecast weather conditions.