India Meteorological Department marks 150 years: Centre invites Pakistan, Bangladesh, other nations to join celebrations

India has extended invitations to Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other neighboring countries to participate in a unique seminar commemorating 150 years of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

This event aims to set aside differences and celebrate the shared historical heritage of the Indian subcontinent.

The Invitations have been sent to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, as well as to officials from the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southwest Asia, reports media.

Pakistan has confirmed its participation, while a response from Bangladesh is still awaited. If Dhaka confirms, it will mark a historic occasion.

"We wanted officials from all countries that were part of undivided India when the IMD was established to join the celebrations," a senior IMD official stated.

Several Indian government ministries have contributed to make the event noteworthy. The Finance Ministry will release a limited-edition Rs. 150 commemorative coin, while the Indian Home Ministry has approved a special Republic Day tableau highlighting IMD's 150-year legacy.

The IMD was founded on 15 January 1875, although meteorological observatories existed earlier. The British East India Company had established the Calcutta Observatory in 1785, the Madras Observatory in 1796, and the Bombay Observatory in 1826, with additional facilities set up across the subcontinent in the early 19th century.

A brief history of IMD

The establishment of the IMD in 1875 was prompted by severe weather events, including a devastating cyclone in Calcutta in 1864 and two monsoon failures in 1866 and 1871 that caused famines in Bengal. To address these challenges, the British administration centralised meteorological data collection and analysis, creating the IMD.

Initially headquartered in Calcutta, the IMD moved to Shimla in 1905, Pune in 1928, and finally to New Delhi in 1944, where it remains today.

From its modest beginnings, the IMD has grown into a prominent weather forecasting agency for Asia. Post-independence, it has advanced significantly in weather science and technology. During the telegram era, the IMD relied on telegrams for major updates but soon adopted message-switching computers for global data exchange and acquired some of the first electronic computers for climate research.

IMD also collaborated early with ISRO, India's space agency, and became the first developing nation to launch a geostationary satellite, INSAT, for continuous weather monitoring and cyclone warnings.