Panic over Monsoon Forecast Unwarranted:Earth Science Minister

New Delhi, 2 July, 2014

Addressing a meeting of union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) here today at Prithvi Bhavan, Dr. Jitendra Singh, union Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Science & Technology (Independent Charge), Earth Sciences (Independent Charge), Atomic Energy and Space, clarified that panic in certain quarters over monsoon forecasts was unwarranted and that in the data based forecast made by his department of Earth Sciences last month ,it was unambiguously stated that Long Period Average (LPA) of Western monsoon was overall countrywide expected to be about 93 % of the normal with near normal in North-east and below normal in North-west.

The Minister further elaborated that the effect of monsoon on crops etc is a multi-factorial effect determined not only by its quantitative aspect but also by its distribution and several other factors.Therefore, there is no rationale in sounding alarmist on the issue,he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh said,the Monsoon prediction mechanism in the Earth Sciences department was world-class and also went on to announce that India has similarly developed a world class Cyclone Warning System (CWS). He referred to the “Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre” (ITEWC) which has the capacity to provide world class operational services as Regional Tsunami Watch Provider (RTWP) for whole of the Indian Ocean Region through the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services located in Hyderabad.

He said, it is a matter of pride that India is now having a fool proof 24×7 operational cyclone detection and movement mechanism for the assessment of intensity, track and landfall over the coastal areas of the county. The credit for this goes to the consistent hard work and competitive spirit of the Indian scientists, he added.

Dr. Jitendra Singh informed that his Ministry works in close collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs to formulate Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) and emergency response plans for disaster management.

Expressing satisfaction over effective implementation of Monsoon Mission Program, the minister declared that the activities of geosciences and seismology will get a boost in near future with the union government taking over the National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Tiruvananthapuram from the Government of Kerala.

Also present on the occasion were Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences; Shri Anand Khati, Joint Secretary; Shri J.B. Mahapatra, Joint Secretary & Financial Adviser and other senior scientists as well as officers.