India launches AI-powered weather forecasting systems for hyper-local predictions

The first system focuses on forecasting the progression of the monsoon season. It issues weekly updates every Wednesday, offering projections up to four weeks in advance. The service is aimed primarily at farmers across 16 states and more than 3,000 sub-districts, and is distributed through the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. By combining AI technology, long-range forecasting models, and statistical data, the system helps farmers better plan agricultural activities.

The second system is currently being tested as a pilot project in Uttar Pradesh. It provides rainfall forecasts up to ten days ahead with a fine spatial resolution of one kilometer. This model relies on advanced AI-based scaling techniques along with data from automatic rain gauges, weather stations, Doppler radar systems, and satellite observations.

Jitendra Singh, India’s Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, stated that these new tools go beyond traditional forecasting by not only predicting weather conditions but also explaining their potential effects and offering practical guidance. He noted that farmers can now make more precise decisions regarding sowing, irrigation, crop protection, and harvesting.

He also highlighted that the system could benefit other sectors such as water resource management, renewable energy, urban planning, emergency response, and infrastructure development. According to him, advances in technology and data integration over the past decade have significantly improved forecast accuracy and increased public trust in meteorological services.

The systems were developed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences in collaboration with the India Meteorological Department, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, and the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting.

Earlier, it was reported India advances AI-ready public data infrastructure for smarter governance.