UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — AI-enabled Systems introduced by IMD to provide Hyper-Local Weather forecasts: Dr Jitendra Singh

Q1. With reference to the recently launched 'AI-enabled Forecast of Monsoon Advance over Different Parts of the Country', which one of the following best describes the product?

  • A. A deterministic forecast of the exact date of monsoon onset issued only once at the start of the season
  • B. A probabilistic forecast of monsoon progression issued every Wednesday valid up to four weeks ahead
  • C. A nowcasting system giving thunderstorm alerts at 1-km resolution every three hours
  • D. A long-range seasonal outlook of total southwest monsoon rainfall issued in April and updated in June

Q2. The 'AI-enabled Forecast of Monsoon Advance' system launched in May 2026 was introduced primarily under which one of the following Union Ministries as the nodal ministry?

  • A. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • B. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
  • C. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • D. Ministry of Science and Technology

Q3. What is the horizontal spatial resolution (in km) at which the Bharat Forecast System (BharatFS), recently operationalised by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, generates its weather forecasts?

  • A. 3 km
  • B. 6 km
  • C. 9 km
  • D. 12 km

Q4. Which one of the following institutions is the principal/lead developer of the Bharat Forecast System (BharatFS)?

  • A. India Meteorological Department (IMD), New Delhi
  • B. National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Noida
  • C. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune
  • D. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad

Q5. Which one of the following best describes 'Mission Mausam', approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2024?

  • A. An overarching umbrella scheme of the Ministry of Earth Sciences subsuming ACROSS, O-SMART, PACER, SAGE and REACHOUT sub-schemes.
  • B. A two-year initiative with an outlay of Rs. 2,000 crore to exponentially enhance India's weather and climate observations, modelling and forecasting capabilities.
  • C. A dedicated programme to deploy indigenous geostationary meteorological satellites (INSAT-3DS series) for tropical cyclone tracking over the Indian Ocean.
  • D. A successor to the National Monsoon Mission focused exclusively on developing a coupled dynamical seasonal prediction system for the Indian summer monsoon.

Q6. With reference to 'Mission Mausam' as compared with earlier weather and climate initiatives of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, consider the following statements: 1. Mission Mausam is implemented solely by the India Meteorological Department, unlike the PRITHVI scheme which involves multiple MoES institutes. 2. Mission Mausam has been approved with a total outlay of Rs. 2,000 crore to be utilised over a period of two years. 3. Unlike its predecessors, Mission Mausam relies exclusively on AI/ML data-driven models and entirely abandons physics-based numerical weather prediction. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Mission Mausam is implemented solely by the India Meteorological Department, unlike the PRITHVI scheme which involves multiple MoES institutes.
  2. Mission Mausam has been approved with a total outlay of Rs. 2,000 crore to be utilised over a period of two years.
  3. Unlike its predecessors, Mission Mausam relies exclusively on AI/ML data-driven models and entirely abandons physics-based numerical weather prediction.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. Which one of the following is the lead institution for the indigenous development of the high-resolution 'Bharat Forecast System' (BharatFS) that underpins IMD's hyper-local AI-enabled weather products?

  • A. India Meteorological Department (IMD), New Delhi
  • B. National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Noida
  • C. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune
  • D. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad

Q8. Mission Mausam, under which the AI-enabled Monsoon Advance Forecast System and the 1-km hyper-local rainfall forecast for Uttar Pradesh were operationalised, falls exclusively under the administrative authority of which one of the following Union Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • B. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • C. Ministry of Science and Technology
  • D. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Q9. Under which Union Ministry was the 'High Spatial Resolution Rainfall Forecast for Uttar Pradesh', an AI-driven 1-km rainfall forecast pilot of the India Meteorological Department, launched in 2026?

  • A. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • B. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • C. Ministry of Science and Technology
  • D. Ministry of Jal Shakti

Q10. The IMD's 1-km High Spatial Resolution Rainfall Forecast pilot for Uttar Pradesh, launched in 2026, generates rainfall forecasts up to how many days in advance?

  • A. 3 days
  • B. 5 days
  • C. 7 days
  • D. 10 days

Q11. With reference to the Multi-Hazard Early Warning Decision Support System (MHEW-DSS) operationalised by the India Meteorological Department, consider the following statements regarding the user-categories that receive its sector-specific alerts: 1. Farmers receive crop-related early warnings through MHEW-DSS sector-specific alerts. 2. Fishermen are among the explicitly notified user-categories of MHEW-DSS. 3. Only government disaster-management agencies, and no civilian commercial sector, are recipients of MHEW-DSS sector-specific alerts. 4. Energy providers are an explicitly notified user-category under MHEW-DSS. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Farmers receive crop-related early warnings through MHEW-DSS sector-specific alerts.
  2. Fishermen are among the explicitly notified user-categories of MHEW-DSS.
  3. Only government disaster-management agencies, and no civilian commercial sector, are recipients of MHEW-DSS sector-specific alerts.
  4. Energy providers are an explicitly notified user-category under MHEW-DSS.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 3 only

Q12. The Multi-Hazard Early Warning Decision Support System (MHEW-DSS), launched in January 2024 under Mission Mausam, is operationalised by which one of the following?

  • A. India Meteorological Department under the Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • B. National Disaster Management Authority under the Ministry of Home Affairs
  • C. National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting under the Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • D. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services under the Ministry of Earth Sciences

Q13. The AI-enabled Monsoon Advance Forecast System and the Bharat Forecast System (BharatFS), used to provide hyper-local agromet advisories and disaster risk reduction support, are operationalised under which one of the following Union Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • B. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
  • C. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • D. Ministry of Science and Technology
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