Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
Also called: IITM · Topic: Climate of India and the Monsoon · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) is a research institute in Pune. It studies weather and climate in the tropics, especially the Indian monsoon. It works under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). Since the merger approved in July 2022, it is one of the five institutes in the Earth System Sciences Council. IITM builds and improves numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, which are computer programs that use the physics of the air and ocean to work out tomorrow's weather. It also runs observation networks and uses AI and machine learning. Its best-known work is the Bharat Forecasting System. It matters because better monsoon forecasts help farmers decide when to sow, help plan reservoir water, and give early warning of disasters.
Example
IITM Pune led the National Monsoon Mission, which MoES started in 2012. Under it, IITM built a coupled ocean-atmosphere model, meaning a model in which the sea and the air affect each other. The model forecasts at every time scale, from a few days to a whole monsoon season.
Don't confuse with
- India Meteorological Department (IMD, founded 1875): IMD is the official agency that issues India's weather forecasts and warnings, such as the April and May monsoon forecasts. IITM is a research institute that builds the science and models behind them, and it is not IMD.