On 26th May, India unveiled the Bharat Forecast System (BFS), a breakthrough in indigenous weather modelling that now allows forecasts down to the village level. The BFS has been developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). It was launched by Union Earth Sciences Minister Dr Jitendra Singh at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. This system is backed by the supercomputer ‘Arka’ and marks India’s entry into the world’s most accurate weather prediction league. With BFS, India is now ahead of the US, UK and EU.
Launched first indigenously developed world-class high-resolution weather forecast system, "Bharat Forecast System" #BharatFS.
— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) May 26, 2025
As India celebrates the rise of her economy to Rank 4 and looks forward to moving up to Rank 1, the forecast precision aims to consolidate India's… pic.twitter.com/Fm1H5nRpl6
A leap from 12 km to 6 km resolution
Until now, India’s forecasts were based on a 12 km grid model. The new BFS shrinks it to a 6 km resolution, which enables hyperlocal predictions for every village, rather than a cluster of 4–5 villages. This development has placed India’s model at the highest spatial precision among global weather systems that operate at resolutions of 9 km to 14 km.
According to the ministry, this leap could mean a 30% improvement in extreme rainfall forecasts and a 64% boost in monsoon core zone accuracy, which means it will significantly enhance disaster preparedness and agricultural resilience.
India-made system, India-wide impact
Speaking at the launch, Dr Singh said, “This indigenous breakthrough positions India among global leaders in weather prediction. The efforts are Indian, the technology is Indian, and the beneficiaries are Indian. This is true Atmanirbharta.”
#WATCH | Delhi: On IMD (India Meteorological Department), Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh says, "The time has come to see what will be our contribution to our target of 2047 in the context of IMD… We have succeeded in backing IMD in bringing India's economy to the top level,… pic.twitter.com/rnly2FPaZI
— ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2025
The system has been developed under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. It uses the advanced Triangular Cubic Octahedral Grid model and will also serve other tropical regions between 30°S and 30°N latitudes.
In simpler terms, the system uses a special 3D grid system called the Triangular Cubic Octahedral Grid that helps divide the Earth’s surface more evenly than regular square grids. This makes weather predictions more accurate, especially in complex areas like the tropics, which is the region around the equator between 30 degrees South and 30 degrees North, including India and many other developing countries. With the help of the new system, farmers and local authorities in the area will get more precise and timely weather alerts.
The BFS is powered by the new High-Performance Computing (HPC) system ‘Arka’, located at IITM Pune and NCMRWF Noida. With 11.77 petaflops of computing speed and 33 petabytes of storage, Arka slashes model run time from 10 hours (on the previous system ‘Pratyush’) to just four hours.
In simpler terms, the earlier system Pratyush was taking 10 hours to run forecasts. With Arka, the same process can be completed in just four hours.
Women scientists
One of the most significant highlights of BFS is the announcement that the project is being led by four women scientists, which is a reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Nari Shakti. Dr Singh remarked, “Science ministries no longer empower women, we are being empowered by them.” Dr Suvarna Fadnavis, Dr Swapna Panickal, Dr Susmitha Joseph and Dr Medha Deshpande are leading the team.
The all-women-led team behind the first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art indigenous “Bharat Forecast System” #BharatFS, launched by the India Meteorological Department under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) May 26, 2025
A brilliant reflection of PM Sh @narendramodi's push for greater women… pic.twitter.com/VuJANvbY84
Designed for today’s climate realities
The government’s Economic Survey has already pointed out how weather volatility, including heatwaves and sudden rains, has driven up food inflation and crop losses. Between 2022 and 2024, the IMD observed heatwaves on 18% of days, a steep rise from 5% in 2020–21.
BFS will be supported by 40 Doppler weather radars across the country, which will address these challenges. The government is planning to expand the number of radars to 100. It will enable real-time alerts and “nowcasting”, which is forecasting events in the next two hours, in every part of India.
A whole-of-government, whole-of-science approach
Dr Singh praised the collaborative effort of institutions including IITM, IMD, ISRO, and others in realising the BFS. With over 20 ministries relying on weather data daily, from agriculture to transport, the Bharat Forecast System is not just a scientific feat but a national asset, which will reduce losses, boost gains, and fuel India’s ascent to become the world’s top economy.
