The World Meteorological Day is commemorated every year on 23rd March. It marks the origin of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on 23 Mar 1950 and signifies the invaluable contribution and essential role of the meteorologists in this field. As part of the World Meteorological Day celebrations, a METOC (Meteorological and Oceanographic) seminar _’Meghayan-24’_ was conducted by School of Naval Oceanology & Meteorology (SNOM) and Indian Naval Meteorological Analysis Centre (INMAC) at Southern Naval Command on 28 Mar 24. The seminar was based on the theme _*’At the Frontline of Climate Action’*_ as promulgated by WMO for the year 2024.

The inaugural address was delivered by Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff through virtual mode. He highlighted the need for accurate and immediate focus on the pressing challenge of climate change and to work together in the collective pursuit of common goal of ‘Achieving a Climate Smart Society’ under the global framework for climate services of WMO. He reiterated Indian Navy’s commitment to adopting long term sustainable policies to address the environmental concerns and integrating climate change considerations in the security strategy. While laying importance on reliable METOC support for safe & optimal Naval operations, he complimented the dedicated efforts and contributions of the Naval met specialists in this field providing crucial support across all domains.

The seminar witnessed presentations by guest speakers Dr. TVS Uday Bhaskar, Scientist G, Indian Naval Centre for Ocean Information System (INCOIS), Hyderabad and Dr. Ragavendra Ashit, Scientist ‘G’, National Centre for Medium Range Forecasting (NCMRWF), New Delhi. They enlightened the audience on the latest techniques adopted by the scientific agencies and the climate data crunching undertaken to help the policy makers in decision making at national level. In addition, panel discussions were held on various topics of ‘Effect of Weather and Climate Change on Naval Operations’ by the specialist officers bringing out latest techniques adopted by the Indian Navy & Indian scientific organisations in providing METOC inputs/forecasts for operational evolutions.

On this occasion an indigenous mobile application INDRA (Indian Naval Dynamic Resource for Weather Analysis) to disseminate weather related information and forecasts empowering optimal & quick decision making was also launched. The application has been developed by BISAG (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics) in coordination with Directorate of Naval Oceanology and Meteorology, Indian Navy. The event was attended by Rear Admiral Upal Kundu, Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command, Cmde Abhinav Barve, Commodore (NOM), Naval Headquarters and Mr. Miren Karamta, Director, BISAG. The seminar served as a platform towards sharing of knowledge & insights on weather and climate services as well as way ahead to face the challenges of climate change.