The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday launched two new weather forecasting services, including an AI-enabled monsoon advance forecasting system that will provide updates on the progress of seasonal rainfall and “localised weather information” up to four weeks in advance. The service is aimed at supporting farmers across 16 states and more than 3,000 sub-districts.The second service focuses on a high-resolution spatial rainfall forecast for Uttar Pradesh, introduced as a pilot project. It showcases the capability to generate operational rainfall forecasts at a 1-km resolution up to 10 days in advance using dense observational networks and artificial intelligence techniques. Officials said similar services would gradually be extended to other regions as observational infrastructure continues to expand.The pilot forecasting system uses advanced AI-driven downscaling techniques and integrates data collected from Automatic Rain Gauges, Automatic Weather Stations, Doppler Weather Radars and satellite-based rainfall datasets.The hyperlocal forecast information will be shared through multiple platforms, including mobile applications, SMS alerts, WhatsApp, Kisan portals, television and other digital channels. The information will also be displayed at vegetable markets and other marketplaces, while members of rural self-help groups will receive updates as well.Launching the two forecasting products, Union minister of earth sciences Jitendra Singh said the newly introduced systems represent a major transition from conventional weather forecasting to impact-based and decision-support forecasting capable of delivering “precise, location-specific and actionable information” to farmers, administrators, disaster managers and citizens.The systems have been jointly developed by the India Meteorological Department, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting.Singh said the initiative would prove especially beneficial for sectors such as agriculture, water resources, renewable energy, urban planning, disaster management and infrastructure. He added that farmers would now be able to take more informed decisions regarding sowing, irrigation, crop protection and harvest planning with much greater local precision.Secretary in the ministry of earth sciences M Ravichandran said the newly launched products are stakeholder-driven forecasting systems developed through a combination of numerical weather prediction models and AI-based data-driven approaches.He said the systems were created in response to the growing demand from agriculture and other sectors for "highly localized and high-resolution weather forecasts".