IMD Pune Develops Indigenous Digital Weather System for Real-Time Forecasting
Pune, 26th March 2026: In a significant technological leap for weather monitoring, the India Meteorological Department has developed an indigenous Digital Surface Meteorological Observation System at its Pune observatory, aimed at enhancing the speed and accuracy of weather forecasts.
The system was virtually inaugurated by IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra on the occasion of World Meteorological Day. It has been designed and developed by the Weather Research and Services division based in Pune.
Unlike conventional observation methods, the new digital system is capable of recording weather data every minute, enabling continuous and high-resolution monitoring. It uses advanced sensors and wireless connectivity to capture key atmospheric parameters such as temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and direction, and rainfall in real time.
Scientists said the integration of geo-tagging features will further improve the tracking of localised weather conditions, allowing for more precise micro-level forecasting.
Explaining the advancement, IMD scientist S D Sanap noted that current manual observations are typically recorded eight times a day at three-hour intervals across observatories. These readings, along with inputs from automatic weather stations that provide updates every 15 minutes, form the backbone of forecasting across nearly 500 centres nationwide.
“With the new system, data collection will become continuous and far more detailed, leading to faster and more reliable forecasts,” officials said.
The IMD plans to gradually expand the deployment of this system across the country over the next two to three years, signalling a transition towards a fully digital, high-frequency weather monitoring network.
