16 December 2020.

Introduction:

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra while addressing a webinar ‘Weather and Climate Services over Mountains Region’ disclosed that India plans to establish a regional climate centre for the Himalayan mountain region.

About the Centre:

• The RCC is likely to come up in Delhi.
• The centre will not only provide weather-related advices within the country but also to its neighbours.

•  The RCC will provide weather-related services specially for the farmers and tribes residing in the Himalayan Region.

•  Himansh, the country’s remote and high altitude research centre, established in 2016, will also undertake weather research activities in the Himalayas.

•  Lot of initiatives have been taken by the Ministry of Earth Sciences and IMD for augmentation of observational network with deployment of doppler radars and automated weather stations and with the development of region specific numerical models and application activities with improvement in forecast activities and warning services.

• China is also building a similar regional climate centre on its side of the Himalayas.

Why do we need a Regional Climate Centre?

• India has the Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats along the east and the west coast and the Myanmar hills in the northeast.
•  Disasters in the mountainous regions play a dominant role in deciding socio-economic activities.
• Natural calamities in Himalayas like the earthquakes are well-recognised — the heavy rainfall leading to cloud bursts and also many other phenomena that affect the local agriculture, local industry, local bio-system, local lives.
• Ther are various types of disaster phenomenon in other hill ranges like western and eastern ghats also.
• Landslides due to heavy rains are a common phenomenon in the Himalays or the North East.
• However, disatrous landslides have also been seen in Kerala,Karnatka due to heavy rains and in Andhrra Pradesh and Odisha due to cyclones.

• Himlayas is a data sparse region, the relative observational network is limited as compared to the plain ranges of the country.

• There is a scope to improve further the physical understanding of various processes occurring in these mountains regions, their modelling and hence the forecasting and warning services.

• At the same time, there is a need to develop the climate applications scenarios, especially with respect to water sector, industries, tourism, agriculture, specifically in these mountains regions.

India as third pole:

Considering the size of Himalayas and its role in India’s hydrology, meteorology, disaster management, ecosystem and many other activities, the world has correctly recognised India  as the ‘third pole of the world’.