IMD using AI, machine learning to enhance weather forecasts: DG Mohapatra

India's weather scientists have started harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance weather forecasts, India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said. In a free-wheeling interaction with PTI editors, he said over the next few years, the emerging technologies would also complement numerical weather forecasting models which are widely used at present to predict weather. He said the weather office has been increasing observational systems to make mesoscale weather forecasts at the panchayat level or over 10 sq km area at a faster rate. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has deployed a network of 39 doppler weather radars that cover 85 per cent of the country's landmass and enable hourly forecasts for prominent cities, Mohapatra said. "We have started using Artificial Intelligence in a limited way but within the next five years, AI will significantly enhance our models and techniques," he said. Mohapatra said the I