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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has installed a new automated weather station (AWS) close to Bharat Mandapam (earlier Pragati Maidan) in New Delhi to observe the weather more closely for the three-day Group of Twenty (G20) summit being held there.
The new AWS will add to the already existing network of IMD AWSs which would help the weather agency issue a three hourly forecast for the venue, the Indira Gandhi International Airport and the New Delhi railway station, Chandini Chowk, Akshardham Temple, Bahai/Lotus Temple, Qutub Minar, Red Fort / Raj Ghat, Delhi University and Lodhi Road (Lodhi Garden).
“It will issue current weather and forecast information for different locations of Delhi since Sept 7, 2023 morning. The weather information will be available through a dedicated webpage (https://mausam.imd.gov.in/g20/) on IMD website,” said IMD in a press release.
It gives information on the maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity and wind direction and speed. This is to ensure that the movements of heads of states and other delegates go on smoothly during the event.
India holds the current presidency of the G20 which started on December 1, 2022 and ends on November 30, 2023. The G20 comprises of 19 countries and the European Union as one block.
The group has a combination of developing and developed countries which account for 85 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product, 75 per cent of the trade and two thirds of its population.
There are many levels of talks and other events that have been organised in 2023 on various financial and economical aspects including Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and climate finance. The talks and events would be concluded at the summit with the discussions at the level of heads of states.
DRR is an approach to find ways to limit risks from disasters caused by natural hazards which includes weather and climate-related disasters such as extreme rainfall events, floods, landslides, heat waves, wildfires or geological disasters such as earthquakes.
The collection of data and accurate forecasting of weather is a quintessential starting point for an effective early warning system which would reduce the risks from climate-related disasters.
A new working group on DRR was established under India’s presidency “to encourage collective work by the G20, undertake multi-disciplinary research and exchange best practices on disaster risk reduction”, says the official website of the G20.
This was done as the DRR issue has not been “addressed by the G20 in a comprehensive and sustained manner”. This is despite the fact that the G20 countries lose $218 billion every year in terms infrastructure losses.
The third meeting of the DRR Working Group concluded in Chennai on July 26 with the G20 members accepting the action points on Global Coverage of Early Warning Systems, Disaster, and Climate Resilient Infrastructure, Financing Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Disaster Response System, and the Ecosystem-based Approach to DRR.
A way forward on DRR would help the G20 countries adapt better to extreme weather events happening due to global warming and resultant climate change.