The International Monsoons Project Office (IMPO) was launched by India’s Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Minister Dr Jitendra Singh through a virtual event on the 28th of February 2022, on the occasion of National Science Day.
The International Monsoons Project Office (IMPO) will be hosted at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune, which falls under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Setting up of the IMPO stresses the importance of monsoons for the Indian economy.
It would undertake activities pertaining to international monsoon research that would be identified and promoted under the guidance of the World Climate Research Programme and the World Weather Research Programme.
Setting up of the International Monsoons Project Office in India means growing a consolidated scientific perspective to solve the seasonal variableness of monsoons, enhancing the prediction skill of monsoons and cyclones, strengthening the monsoon research for better support operations and services, consequently promoting knowledge sharing and capacity building in areas of monsoon research which is crucial for agriculture, water resources and disaster management, hydropower and climate-sensitive socio-economic sectors.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that the IMPO is a step towards making India a global hub for monsoon research and coordination in an efficient manner for addressing common and region-specific aspects of the monsoons around the globe.
Dr Singh stressed that setting up the International Monsoons Project Office will give a huge thrust to global monsoon research resulting in mutual benefits to both the international and Indian research fraternity.
