Bharat Forecast System to issue sharper rain alerts

• BFS promises fine-tuned and accurate rain forecasts down to panchayat level.

• Improvements will be visible in short- and medium-term forecasts, but not long-range forecasts.

• BFS, developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), has shown “notable improvements” in giving advance warning of heavy rainfall events.

• BFS model breaks the globe into 6-km sides, a four-fold improvement.

• India is the only country providing operational weather forecasts at a 6 km by 6 km resolution.

• The new system won’t significantly improve forecasts of sudden, severe thunderstorms.