India has launched the Bharat Forecasting System (BFS), a high-resolution weather forecasting model with a spatial resolution of six kilometers, making it the most detailed global numerical weather prediction system to date. Developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), BFS will be operational from this monsoon season and is expected to significantly improve the accuracy of local weather predictions. Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh stated that this new system places India among global leaders in meteorological forecasting and will enhance predictions in critical areas like agriculture, aviation, disaster management, and flood forecasting.
Unlike existing global models used by the US, UK, and Europe—which operate at resolutions between 9 km and 14 km—BFS is specifically designed to handle the complex and rapidly changing weather patterns in tropical regions. The model will allow for more granular forecasting, providing separate predictions even for closely situated villages. According to Earth Sciences Secretary M Ravichandran, such precision is crucial in a country like India, where small-scale weather variations can significantly impact farming and infrastructure planning.
The BFS was made possible by the installation of a powerful new supercomputer, Arka, at the IITM, which can process forecasts nearly three times faster than the previous system, Pratyush. Using data from 40 Doppler Weather Radars (soon to be expanded to 100), the model can now deliver highly localized forecasts, including nowcasts—short-term forecasts valid for the next two hours—across the tropical belt between 30° South and 30° North latitude. This advancement is expected to help India minimize economic losses due to extreme weather while also strengthening its global standing in climate science and meteorology.
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