Social media platforms have become an inseparable component of our daily lives. Considering the outreach and appeal of social media platforms, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Goa through Facebook, WhatsApp Messenger, Twitter etc is sending forecast and weather warnings to people.
Speaking to GT, Rahul M, scientist at IMD Goa, informed that the department has three major applications on their official website which offer diverse information and weather-related alerts to consumers. All the links to these applications and the latest information are updated on IMD Goa website, he added.
Rahul M said that the department is leaving no stone unturned in making optimum use of Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp to share weather-related updates and emergency warning messages to the people.
On an official Facebook account of IMD Goa, there are 4000 followers, on Twitter 1800 and on Whatsapp group over 250 followers. The department also publishes information in the local Konkani language to benefit the people.
When asked about its role during natural hazards, the scientist explained that IMD Goa is not directly involved in disaster management. "Our objective is to give advance warning about weather. For this purpose, we send official emails to the government departments and media houses so that more people are made aware of any prevailing situation. Impact-based forecast is also provided such as the possibilities of heavy rainfall, floodlike situation etc.," he said.
The scientist also informed that the IMD also sends SMS warnings to the people registered with them in case of severe weather conditions. For this purpose, we have a form on our website which the people can fill and submit to us and they will get SMS alerts, he added.
IMD and the State Disaster Management Authority(SDMA) work in sync while sending bulk alert SMSs to people, he stated.
IMD applications
1) Mausam: This application provides Global Positioning System (GPS)-based information wherein a person could provide his location and in return he gets the weather forecast.
2) Meghdoot: This application is specially meant for farmers. Through this, crops specific advisory, general weather warning etc are provided. District Agromet Units and local IMD offices prepare agromet advisory for the farmers in a weekly sequence.
3) Damini: This application will come in handy for the people to know about lightning and thunder-related intel during pre and post-monsoon time. It also alerts people about the probability of lightning strikes. People also get data on the latest lightning strikes that happened within one-hour time.