India will showcase its specialised meteorological skills — especially against the backdrop of the global accolades the country received for its handling of cyclone Fani, which was considered one of the strongest in the last 20 years — to Prince Charles during his two-day visit beginning November 13.
Top sources said Prince Charles will visit the regional specialised Meteorological Centre for Tropical Cyclone at India Meteorological Department (IMD) building at Lodhi Road to see the progress and models of forecast being used for cyclone prediction by India.
Prince Charles will also discuss with IMD about its accurate prediction of cyclone Fani in Odisha this year.
“Prince Charles will witness how India makes use of innovation to respond to natural disasters. What methodology and model is being adopted by it? How it is managed to coordinate with disaster management agencies during cyclone predictions and how its clean technology is helping deal with the challenges of climate change,” said the sources.
A low-pressure area is the initial stage of the formation of a cyclone. During Fani, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, collected data on rainfall, temperatures below the sea and above, wind speed and used satellite data in running the models.
“The island observatories also provided data which helped to predict accurate cyclonic storm,” said officials. This year, so far India witnessed over five cyclonic storms which include Fani, Kyarr, Titli, Vayu and Bulbul.
Recently, the UN agency for disaster reduction commended the IMD’s “almost pinpoint accuracy” of early warnings that helped authorities conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan and minimise the loss of life as the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani made landfall near the coastal city of Puri.
The powerful cyclone in Odisha had killed at least eight people, damaged properties worth hundreds of crores and displaced over 11 lakh people. Large areas in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri and other places were submerged as heavy rain battered the entire coastal belt of the State.
Last week, the accurate prediction of cyclonic storm Bulbul also helped the State Governments — West Bengal and Odisha — to minimise the damage. The IMD predicted cyclone Bulbul to intensify into “very severe cyclonic storm” and alerted the two State Governments. In the case of Bulbul, the IMD predicted accurate landfall at coastal areas of the two States.
The weather department predicted possible damage to thatched roofs, embankments and roads in the coastal districts of north Odisha and West Bengal.
The visit by Prince Charles, heir apparent to the British throne, will be his 10th trip to India and his second in two years. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, had visited India in 2017, as part of their 10-day tour to Asian countries, including Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.
Earlier, Prince Charles’ elder son Prince William and wife Kate Middleton had embarked on a visit to neighbouring Pakistan from October 14 to 18 this year.
As per schedule, Prince Charles will participate in a discussion on how to strengthen disaster resilience and tackle the effects of climate change at the IMD. He will visit a Sikh temple to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak and mark the contribution of the Sikh community in the UK. He will then attend a military service to commemorate the sacrifices of soldiers from India, the UK and across the Commonwealth in World War One and World War Two.
