IMD ropes in BSNL to send extreme weather warnings
The exercise is being carried out on an experimental stage. If successful, the plan is to rope in other weather agencies as well.
New Delhi: Aiming to send extreme weather warnings to people, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is teaming up with the state-run BSNL to push area specific alerts to common people.
The move comes after the IMD came under the criticism from several quarters, including some state governments, for not sending out specific alerts. The charge has been, however, denied by the weather body.
Area specific alerts will be sent to users if they are in that particular place where the extreme weather pattern is going to take place, even if their phone numbers do not belong to that particular telecom circle.
For instance, a BSNL user has travelled from Pune to Delhi where an extreme weather event is forecast. The user will still get the message, an official said.
“The IMD is trying to team up with BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) to push the alerts to common people. The BSNL has come up with a technology, under which, if the IMD sends an alert, they will pass it on to all BSNL numbers in Delhi. The weather alerts include about an impending extreme weather event warning like thunderstorm, dust storm, heatwave, etc.,” said a senior official of the ministry of earth sciences.
The exercise is being carried out on an experimental stage. If successful, the plan is to rope in other weather agencies as well.
The Prime Minister’s Office had recently asked the weather body to advice people on the action they need to take when it issues severe weather warnings.