Climate change: Accurate meteorological predictions have become difficult, says DG IMD

New Delhi: According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, climate change has made it more difficult for forecasting agencies to make accurate predictions of severe events. As a result, weather bureaus around the world are concentrating on increasing the density of observational networks and weather prediction modelling to make predictions more reliable.

He also said that though the monsoon rainfall has not shown any significant trend in the country, the number of heavy rainfall events has increased and that of light rainfall events has decreased due to climate change.

“We have got the digital data of the monsoon rainfall since 1901. Parts of north, east and northeast India show a decrease in rainfall, while some areas in the west, such as west Rajasthan, show an increase in precipitation.

“Thus, there is no significant trend if we consider the country as a whole – the monsoon is random and it shows large-scale variations,” the IMD chief said when asked about the impact of climate change on the Indian monsoon.

On 27 July, the government had told Parliament that Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Nagaland have shown significant decreasing trends in the southwest monsoon rainfall during the recent 30-year period (1989-2018, both years included).

The annual rainfall over these five states, along with Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, has also shown significant decreasing trends, the statement said.

Mohapatra said an analysis of the day-to-day rainfall data since 1970, however, shows that the number of very heavy rainfall days has increased and that of light or moderate rainfall days has decreased.

“That means if it is not raining, it is not raining. If it is raining, it is raining heavily. The rainfall is more intense when there is a low-pressure system. This is one of the most important trends found in the tropical belt, including India. Studies have proved that this increase in heavy rainfall events and decrease in light precipitation are due to climate change,” he told.

Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .