News in Shorts: 03 January 2025

150 years of India Meteorological Department (IMD)

Context: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) will complete 150 years of service on January 15 2025.

About India Meteorological Department (IMD)

• IMD is one of the earliest government departments created for systematic observation, regular reporting, and scientific forecasting of weather in the Indian subcontinent.
  • IMD serves as one of the six Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organization.
• Establishment: IMD was established in 1875 with Mr. H. F. Blanford appointed as the Meteorological Reporter to the Government of India.
• Nodal Ministry: IMD is an agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences
• Headquarters: It is situated in Delhi
  • It has six Regional Meteorological Centres (RMCs) catering to six regions of the country
• Objective: IMD is mandated to make meteorological observations, weather forecasting, and seismology for the Indian Subcontinent.
• Evolution:
  • The first Daily Weather Report in 1878 was prepared
  • 1886: The port warning system was expanded to cover all Indian ports, bolstering maritime safety.
  • 1890: IMD assumed the role of Rainfall Registration Authority, standardising rain measurement through the adoption of a common rain gauge type.
  • 1947-1959: Commencement of Radar age and Flood Met Services
  • 1960-1983: Commencement of the Global Satellite era and Global monitoring and better forecasting up to 24 hours
  • 2004-2023: Rapid advancement in observation, communication and modelling facilities, paradigm shift in forecasting accuracy and services
• Functions: 
  • Meteorological Observation: IMD provide meteorological information for optimum operation of weather-sensitive activities like agriculture, irrigation, shipping, aviation, offshore oil explorations, etc.
  • Warnings and Forecast: It warns against severe weather phenomena like tropical cyclones, heavy rains and snow, cold and heat waves, etc. causing destruction of life and property.
  • Cyclone forecasting and Naming: It is the regional nodal agency for forecasting, naming, and providing warnings about tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean north of the Equator.
  • Seismic Observations: It is also responsible for setting up monitoring centres at key locations for earthquake monitoring and measurements.

Check Out UPSC Modules From PW Store

Pallas’s Cat

Context: Shefiq Basheer Ahammed, a Kerala wildlife photographer, had his 2017 Mongolia trip to photograph the elusive Pallas’s cat featured in a CBSE textbook.

About Pallas’s Cat

• The Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul), also known as the Manul, Steppe Cat, or Rock Wildcat, is one of the smallest wildcats globally, often referred to as the “small ghost of the mountain.”
• Appearance: These well-furred cats are adapted to cold Asian steppes, with coats ranging from grey to brown and even orange-red, changing with the seasons.
  • Their rounded ears are set low on their heads, enhancing their ability to camouflage in rocky terrains.
• Behavior: Pallas’s cats are nocturnal and elusive, with exceptional camouflage skills that make them nearly invisible in their natural habitats.
• Habitat: Primarily inhabiting the steppe grasslands of Mongolia, China, and the Tibetan Plateau, they thrive in regions with extreme climates, minimal rainfall, and wide temperature ranges.
  • Their range extends across Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea through Iran, Afghanistan, and northern India to central China, Mongolia, and southern Russia.
  • Ladakh is home to three felids: Snow leopard, lynx and Pallas’s cat.
    • Among these three cats, Pallas’cat or manul is the smallest one that resides in the cold deserts of Ladakh.
• Conservation Status
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern 
  • CITES: Listed under Appendix II.
  • Wildlife Protection Act of India: Schedule I.
  • Included in the list of migratory species to be conserved under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) during COP14 in 2020.