Role of weather forecast agencies lauded

Nauni, March 23, 2024: The students and faculty of the Department of Environmental Science, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni celebrated World Meteorological Day at the campus on Saturday. The event was an opportunity to discuss meteorology and appreciate the people involved in gathering, disseminating and analyzing weather, hydrological and environmental data, and making weather predictions possible for making life comfortable.

Addressing the gathering Dr. SK Bhardwaj, HOD, Department of Environmental Science pointed out that climate change is a real and undeniable threat to the world. He said that climate change impacts are visible and predicted to be catastrophic unless we act fast. Dr Bhardwaj said that climate and weather influence every single activity in our lives and hence early warnings issued by experts help to save lives.

He added that Sustainable Development Goal 13 commits us to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts and progress in this goal ensures progress in all other Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore this year’s theme was selected as a wake-up call for the world to take urgent action on climate change by leveraging the services of the experts. The work of the World Meteorological Organization(WMO) is indispensable to climate action. The WMO was established in 1873 and has been measuring and supplying weather data since.

Dr. Chaman Lal Thakur, Dean, College of Forestry was the Chief Guest on the occasion. He appreciated the work of WMO and the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)  for making accurate predictions of weather to prevent disasters. He pointed out that accurate prediction helps to save resources and precious lives. He also appreciated the work of the department which has been involved in making a weather forecast agro-advisory for six districts of the state.  

Dr. Thakur said that he was hopeful that the WMO and IMD would remain at the frontline of climate action to help overcome challenges and achieve the shared vision of a safer, more resilient world for the future. 

Dr. MS Jangra highlighted the significance of weather forecasts and agro-advisory for the farming community to ensure food security. A quiz competition was also organized on the occasion in which 60 students participated. The Chief Guest gave away prizes to winners- Samriti Dutta, Vipasha Sharma and Jaswant.