India aims to expand the use of artificial intelligence in weather forecasting as climate stresses intensify across the country. Officials from the Meteorological Department of India (IMD) said this shift will help improve the speed and accuracy of forecasts, enabling communities to prepare for droughts, floods, heat waves, and other extreme events more effectively. The move aligns with a broader push to harness data-driven insights for national resilience and disaster risk reduction.
IMD anticipates that AI-based climate models will deliver clearer signals about upcoming weather patterns. The focus is especially on large population centers and agricultural regions. With India ranking among the world’s most populous nations and being a major producer of staples such as rice, wheat, and sugar, timely and precise forecasts can support farmers, urban planners, and policymakers in making informed decisions about water management, crop planning, and infrastructure readiness.
To support this effort, the plan includes expanding the network of weather observation stations to capture data at a village level. The goal is to feed richer datasets into neural networks, training models that better reflect local conditions and microclimates. By increasing data granularity, IMD hopes to reduce uncertainties in short- and medium-range forecasts and to improve early warnings for communities at risk of climatic hazards.
In recent years, climate change has contributed to more frequent heavy rainfall, flooding, and heat extremes across parts of India. Independent assessments by environmental researchers highlight the growing cost of hazardous weather on lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure. Efforts to bolster predictive capabilities through AI are part of a broader strategy to build resilience and protect vulnerable populations.
Historically, researchers have explored the potential of artificial intelligence to extend beyond weather into other health and societal indicators. While many studies show promising results, the practical deployment of AI in public systems requires careful validation, transparent methodologies, and ongoing monitoring to ensure reliability and fairness. The current focus in India is on weather forecasting and climate risk reduction, with ongoing collaboration among government agencies, research institutions, and industry partners to translate data into actionable decisions.