What is the Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS) portal?

Why in News?

• The manual provides stakeholders with an in-depth understanding of the WINDS portal's functionalities, data interpretation, and effective utilisation, empowering farmers, policymakers and various agricultural entities to make well-informed choices.

About Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS) portal:

• It was launched in July, 2023 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare to leverage advanced weather data analytics to give stakeholders actionable insight to make informed weather decisions on agriculture.
• Crucial weather-related information and data will be available to the farmers through WINDS.
• The portal also shares the ministry's parametric crop insurance scheme, along with non-scheme parametric insurance programmes for crop risk mitigation and disaster risk reduction and mitigation being run by the insurance industry.
• The WINDS initiative is laying emphasis on setting up a strong network of weather stations.
• Through this initiative, the target is to establish a wide network of weather stations at the block and gram panchayat level.
• This extensive network of weather stations will enable accurate monitoring of weather patterns, effective planning, risk assessment and timely response to meteorological challenges.
• The goal is to bridge the gap in weather information availability and empower decision makers, farmers and stakeholders at the grassroots level.

Q1) What is weather forecasting?

Weather forecasting is the process of predicting the state of the Earth's atmosphere at a specific location and time in the future. It involves using scientific principles and data to make informed predictions about various meteorological parameters, including temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, and more. Weather forecasting is crucial for a wide range of purposes, from daily planning to agriculture, transportation, disaster management, and climate research. 

Source: Govt launches Kisan Rin Portal and weather WINDS manual