Cyclone warning is one of the most important functions of the India Meteorological Department.  Cyclone warnings are provided by the India Meteorological Department from the Area Cyclone Warning Centers ( ACWCs ) at Calcutta, Chennai and Mumbai and Cyclone Warning Centers (CWCs) at Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneshwar and Ahmedabad. The cyclone warning process is coordinated by the Weather Central in the office of DDGM (Weather Forecasting) at Pune and the Northern Hemispheric Analysis Centre at New Delhi.

 

This Division provides Cyclone Warning Bulletins to Doordarshan and AIR stations at New Delhi, for inclusion in the National broadcast/telecast. Information on cyclone warnings are furnished on a real time basis to the Control Room set up in the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, besides other Ministries & Departments of the Government. 

 

Cyclone warnings are disseminated through a variety of communication media, such as, radio, television, print media, telephones, fax, telex, telegrams, police wireless network. A specially designed Cyclone Warning Dissemination System, which works via the INSAT satellite, provides area-specific service even when there is a failure of conventional communication channels.

 

Warnings are issued for general public, fishermen, farmers and different categories of users such as central and state government officials responsible for disaster mitigation and relief, industrial and other establishments located in the coastal areas, railways, aviation, communications and power authorities. 

The cyclone warnings are issued two stages. The first stage warning known as "Cyclone Alert" is issued 48 hours in advance of the expected commencement of adverse weather over the coastal areas. The second stage warning known as "Cyclone Warning" is issued 24 hours in advance.

 

 

TSR – The leading global tropical storm tracker

 

The TSR Tropical Storm Tracker is a free Internet application available from www.tropicalstormrisk.com. The product enables insurers, reinsurers, risk managers, humanitarian relief agencies and others to assess exactly when, where and to what extent losses are likely to happen from active tropical storms worldwide. Having the latest and best risk information readily and clearly to hand is vital for competitive advantage and for organising effective humanitarian aid.

 

The Tropical Storm Tracker is designed for clarity of information, ease of use and relevant content. The product's core features include:

• Real-time forecasts out to five days lead for all active tropical cyclone systems worldwide.

• Best available information on storm position and strength (past, current and future).

• Forecasts updated every 6-12 hours.

• Graphical windspeed probability product giving the likelihood that any point on a map will be struck by hurricane strength (74mph) and/or by tropical storm strength (39mph) 1-min sustained winds at different leads out to 5 days.

• Current and forecast 2-dimensional wind fields for all systems of at least hurricane force prior to extra-tropical transition.

• Display of past wind affected areas for all active tropical storms.

• Storm-centered zooms for current and forecast positions out to 5 days lead.

 

User can also register for email communication in case of any upcoming Tropical Storm, based on the preferences selected by him.

 

The Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) venture developed from the UK government-supported TSUNAMI initiative project on seasonal tropical cyclone prediction, which ran from October 1998 to June 2000. The TSR consortium comprises experts in modeling and forecasting tropical cyclones, and in insurance and risk management. The TSR industry expertise is drawn from Crawford & Company, a global claims management solutions company. The TSR scientific grouping brings together meteorologists, climatologists and statisticians from UCL and the Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre.