Context
On the occasion of National Science Day 2022, the Union Minister of Science & Technology has launched the International Monsoons Project Office (IMPO) through a high-level virtual event.
Key-points
- IMPO will be hosted at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, an institution under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, initially for five years.
- The establishment of the IMPO emphasises the importance of monsoons to the country’s economy.
- Under the guidance of the World Climate Research Programme and the World Weather Research Programme, it would cover activities and relationships relating to international monsoon research that would be recognised and supported.
- The United Nations World Meteorological Organization coordinates both the World Climate Research Programme and the World Weather Research Programme, which are international programmes (WMO).
The International Monsoons Project Office (IMPO)
- IMPO is built on the experience gained with the International CLIVAR Monsoon Project Office (ICMPO), hosted by IITM during 2015-2021, with the recognition that its mandate needs to be expanded to cover all monsoon research related matters in World Meteorological Organization (WMO) programmes.
- The World Weather Research Programme’s working group on tropical meteorology research will also benefit from IMPO’s assistance.
- It supports the activities of the Monsoons Panel, jointly established by CLIVAR and GEWEX core projects of the WCRP.
- It also supports the monsoon relevant activities of the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP)'s Working Group on Tropical Meteorology Research (WGTMR).
Significance of IMPO
- Setting up the IMPO in India would mean expanding an integrated scientific approach to solve the seasonal variability of monsoons, enhancing the prediction skill of monsoons and cyclones.
- It would promote knowledge sharing and capacity building in areas of monsoon research crucial for agriculture, water resources and disaster management, hydropower and climate-sensitive socio-economic sectors.
- It is a step towards making India a global hub for monsoon research and coordination in a seamless manner for addressing common and region-specific aspects of the monsoons around the world.
