The India Meteorological Department will install 200 Automatic Weather Stations in major cities in 2026.
Announced on IMD’s 151st Foundation Day, the move aims to strengthen hyper-local forecasting and disaster preparedness.

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• IMD to install 200 AWS across four metro cities

• 50 stations each in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune

• Deployment planned for 2026

• Focus on hyper-local, real-time weather forecasts

• Better prediction of cloudbursts, heatwaves, storms

• Supports disaster management in dense urban areas

• Forecast accuracy improved by 40–50% in last decade

• Cyclone track prediction accuracy up by 35–40%

• Weather radars now cover 87% of India’s area

• IMD headquarters fully powered by solar energy