1. Course on Crop-Weather Relationships
Module VI: Weather Forecasting
Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics
After successful completion of 5 Lessons in this Module, you have learned to answer:
How weather forecasting is useful?
What is the aim of weather forecasting?
What is weather forecasting?
How weather is predicted?
How reliable is this weather forecasting?
What types of weather forecasting exists?
How to get information on weather forecasts?
How simple techniques help in predicting weather?
Course on Crop-Weather Relationships

2. Course on Crop-Weather Relationships
Module VI: Weather Forecasting
Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics
The 5 Lessons in this Module are:
Lesson 1: Importance of Weather Forecasting
Lesson 2: About Weather Forecasting
Lesson 3: Types of Weather Forecasting
Lesson 4: Weather Forecasting Resources
Lesson 5: Simple Techniques to Forecast Weather
Course on Crop-Weather Relationships

3. After successful completion of this Lesson, you have learned to answer:
I am a farmer. Where can I get the information on weather forecasting?
What is Farmers’ Weather Bulletin?
What information Farmers’ Weather Bulletin contain?
What is Agro-meteorological Advisory Service?
What information Agro-meteorological Advisories contain?
What is Agricultural Meteorology Division?
What information Agricultural Meteorology Division provides?

4. I am a farmer. Where can I get the information on weather forecasting?
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) provides the following services for the farmers and for those who are interested in agriculture:
Farmers’ Weather Bulletins
Agro-meteorological Advisory Service
Agricultural Meteorology Division

5. What is Farmers’ Weather Bulletin?
Farmers’ Weather Bulletins (FWB) are issued for broadcast in different regional languages through All India Radio stations in the evening programs.
A second bulletin is issued for broadcast in the morning during the rainy season.
The bulletins are also published in newspapers.

6. What information Farmers’ Weather Bulletin contain?
A summary of past weather,
District forecast of weather during the next 48 hours
Special weather warnings for cyclonic storms, etc.,
An outlook for the subsequent two days on the onset of rains, probable rainfall – intensity and duration, weak or a break in monsoon conditions, occurrence of frost, hail, squalls, and other conditions.
Warnings of conditions such as heavy rainfall and low temperature that are injurious to plants.

7. What is Agro-meteorological Advisory Service?
Agro-meteorological Advisory Service provides Agro-meteorological Advisories prepared by IMD twice a week in consultation with agricultural experts of the State Agricultural Departments.
The Agro-meteorological Advisory Service is functioning at 17 IMD centers located mostly at State Capitals.

8. What information Agro-meteorological Advisories contain?
Information on past and expected weather
Specific advice to farmers on what agricultural operations they may undertake in the context of these weather conditions.
The agro-meteorological advisories are very useful to farmers for scheduling of irrigation to save water, and choosing the optimum timing for spraying of pesticides, application of fertilizers, etc.

9. What is Agricultural Meteorology Division ?
Agricultural Meteorology Division of IMD is located in Pune.
It maintains a network of agro meteorological observatories across the country with the cooperation of agricultural universities and research institutions.
The Division provides technical assistance to the cooperating institutions for site selection, training of personnel, calibration of instruments and their maintenance, scrutiny of data, etc.

10. What information Agricultural Meteorology Division provides?
The Agricultural Meteorology Division prepares crop weather calendars.
These calendars depict the state and stage of the crop under normal weather conditions and the weather elements detrimental to the crops in various growth stages.
The crop weather calendars are periodically revised as new crop varieties are introduced and cropping patterns undergo changes.

11. Where can I get the information on weather forecasting?
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) provides the information on many features of weather for many places in India.
You can get weather information from the following IMD web site:
new.htm
Click on the above web site and find out the details of available weather information.

12. Where can I get the information on weather forecasting?
There are other Internet sites which can provide the weather forecasting for cities and town in many countries.
For example, the following site provides weather forecasting for many countries even on hourly basis:
Click on the above web site and find out the details of weather information in many towns and cities in India.

13. Course on Crop-Weather Relationships
Module VI: Weather Forecasting
Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics
This concludes Lesson 4: Weather Forecasting Resources - in this Module.
The last Lesson in this module is about simple techniques for weather forecasting.
Select Lesson 5 from Module VI contents
Course on Crop-Weather Relationships