JAMMU: Union Minister and Udhampur MP Jitendra Singh will formally declare the establishment of a Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Jammu on June 5, a move expected to strengthen weather forecasting and disaster preparedness across Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.
The announcement was made during a curtain-raiser programme held at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu, ahead of the formal declaration ceremony.
Officials said the centre will serve as a major hub for meteorological services in the north-western Himalayan region and will integrate weather observations with advanced X-band Doppler Weather Radar systems and an expanded network of Automatic Weather Stations (AWSs).
The facility is expected to significantly improve real-time weather monitoring, forecasting accuracy and early warning dissemination across the region.
According to officials, the centre will strengthen monitoring and forecasting of extreme weather events, including heavy rainfall, snowfall, flash floods, cloudbursts, thunderstorms, avalanches, heatwaves and coldwaves.
The RMC is also expected to support disaster risk reduction efforts and provide weather and climate services for sectors such as agriculture, aviation, hydropower, tourism, transportation and water resource management.
The formal declaration ceremony will be held at the Convention Centre, Jammu, and will be attended by J&K Minister for Science and Technology Satish Sharma, Jammu MP Jugal Kishore Sharma, Director General of Meteorology M. Mohapatra and other senior officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Officials described the initiative as a significant step towards improving weather forecasting, climate monitoring and dissemination of timely warnings across the meteorologically diverse Himalayan region.
