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Journalism of Courage
Junes sizeable rainfall may have come as a relief to Maharashtra which has been facing a water,power and agricultural crisis,but wary of the India Meteorological Departments (IMD) oft-imprecise forecasting,companies are not taking any chances.
Several companiesespecially in the power,agriculture,construction,media and telecom sectors,which are directly or indirectly dependent on the weatherseem to be in search of customised and comprehensive forecasting. And catering to their needs are the private weather forecasters who bring with them customer-specific information,precise long and short-term forecasting and in many cases,the expertise of former army officials as weather officers.
A representative of a telecom company,which also acquires weather data from private forecasters,points out,We have specific services in villages and agricultural towns,wherein farmers get daily weather updates on their mobile handsets. Considering the dependence of agriculture on apt weather forecasts,we have subscribed to a private service. However,we make our forecasts available to our customers only after assimilating data from several free and paid weather information services.
According to a source,another sector which has now started to subscribe to private weather forecasts is the oil and gas sector,with companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) subscribing to private services. With the rise in demand for such customised forecasting services,several foreign companies have come to fill the space.
Foreca ltd,a New York-based company which provides digital weather services to companies across the world,recently began its India venture in September 2009,and has a stronghold in the telecom and media industry. Vishal Singh,the India head of Foreca,however,says they are not competing with the IMD. The IMD is a government body and has the best weather forecasting ability to date. As for us,our aim is to collate weather information from various Indian and foreign sources to disseminate to the general people. Our website provides detailed information for people to access free of cost, he explains.
Skymet,another such weather forecasting company based in Delhi,has its eyes fixed on Maharashtra,specifically Mumbai. Jatin Singh,the head of Skymet,believes that with unpredictable weather patterns becoming common worldwide,there is a need to anticipate that change and insulate from impending losses. Skymet started operations in 2003,where it provided weather infographics to an English newspaper. Today,Singh says it has become a Rs 2 crore business,with expansion plans in Kolkata and Mumbai. Mumbai alone holds a Rs 100 crore opportunity for weather forecasting companies and we have plans of entering Mumbai over the next year. The civic department,the public sector as well as private companies in Mumbai in the shipping,construction and energy sectors,depend on the weather.
The Met Department may have its limitations when it comes to customised and specific monsoon prediction. Our job is to fill that gap.
Singh says his company is currently working on a website dedicated to the city,called http://www.mumbairain.com,which will provide seven-day forecasts from 10 parts of the city and suburbs including Colaba,Goregaon,Vikroli and Santacruz.
Even as the private sector takes over the weather business,IMDs Deputy Director General RV Sharma maintains,Commercial ventures can disseminate weather information to the public. However,the tools and the expertise in weather forecasting would always remain with the IMD. The Met Department has no competition,but we do have a responsibility towards the public and therefore have to practice cautious forecasting. The private sector doesnt have this responsibility.
