Reliance Foundation signs MoU with IMD to strengthen weather information

The Reliance Foundation signed an MoU with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences in New Delhi this week, for greater collaboration in access and application of weather information to improve livelihoods and resilience for climate-vulnerable communities across India.

Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology at IMD, and Jagannatha Kumar, CEO of Reliance Foundation, exchanged the MoU in the presence of key representatives from both organisations, and emphasised the importance of engagement among all stakeholders to foster resilience in vulnerable communities.

They also underscored opportunities in new technologies to improve forecasts, early warnings and agro-advisories with data-driven insights for the benefit of end users.

The partnership aims to strengthen joint efforts including research to assess the impact of forecasting and early warning services, organising convenings of different stakeholders to discuss climate change adaptation, weather forecasting, resilient agriculture, and early warning communication strategies.

Reliance Foundation will continue to provide a platform to enhance accessibility and availability of information for the most vulnerable communities. Information will be simplified and templatised for actionable communication. The partnership would help disseminate safety and awareness information related to adverse weather conditions, with particular emphasis on resilient livelihoods and personal safety for the most vulnerable communities, even with limited access to technology, stated an official release.

Reliance Foundation is committed to contributing to the global 'Early Warning for All' initiative by WMO and UNDRR among others, that aims to ensure life-saving information about climate events reaches everyone.

Through the partnership with IMD and other key stakeholders, Reliance Foundation aims to enhance the utilization of weather data, disaster preparedness, and climate resilience, ultimately improving both personal safety and livelihoods across India, the release stated.

For over a decade, Reliance Foundation has actively disseminated IMD's weather forecasts, early warning advisories and weather-based agro-livestock guidance through multiple communication channels.

These efforts have supported millions of smallholder farmers, livestock keepers, micro-entrepreneurs, and fisherfolk, especially those in multi-hazard locations. Additionally, Reliance Foundation has regularly collected ground-level feedback from these communities, and shared with scientists to help insights from the ground inform research and refine further work. Various studies have shown that these efforts have contributed to de-risking farming, productivity and income increase.