Gateway to the Indian Meteorology Department

Gauri Chhabra

The eastern cost of our country was battered by “Super Cyclone” Amphan last week. Though the cyclone caused massive damage, yet timely warnings and weather predictions helped in moving lakhs of people to shelters and safety in time. TV channels beamed the exact movement of the cyclone and experts predicted the exact time when it would make a landfall. Have you ever wondered who makes all the predictions? To get into a  precise prediction and trend analysis, what tools are used? Which department takes care of all this?

 All this and much more comes under the department of Meteorology which is, in turn, a branch of atmospheric sciences, focusing on predicting weather and climate, and studying the forces that bring about change in our environment.

 The India Meteorological Department (IMD), an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India takes care of meteorology, weather forecast and seismology. It is also one of the six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organisation. It has the responsibility of forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region. Like other government departments, the IMD, too, offers job opportunities at different levels to weather experts. 

 

The Meteorological Department of India offers many job opportunities ranging from technical assistant, Group A and B. If you are a graduate or postgraduate in PCM group, then you can apply for Technical Assistant, Senior Tech Asstt in the IMD, whereas if you have an MPhil or PhD, you may be eligible to apply for Group A and B Posts.

 Some of the posts in IMD are:

 IMD Scientist

 IMD has recently issued a recruitment notification to fill up vacancies for Scientist’s posts. Interested & eligible applicants can apply online at official site http://www.imd.gov.in.

The minimum qualification has been specified as:

Master’s degree in physics/meteorology/atmospheric sciences or equivalent with at least first class (60%) in the qualifying degree. A bachelor’s degree in electronics/instrumentation/communication engineering or equivalent with at least first class (60%) in the qualifying degree. Once selected, students have to go through a 1-year advanced course in Meteorology at IMD campuses in Pune or New Delhi.

 The Selection Procedure  is of three stages: Prelims Exam, Mains Exam and Interview. Candidates qualifying in the prelims are eligible to appear for the mains and those shortlisted after mains are called for personal interviews. 

 Filling up of three(03) post of Scientist G in IMD,New Delhi on direct recruitment basis

 NOTE: Owing to Covid, the Ministry of Earth Science (MOES) has extended the last date of receiving applications for Scientist G and other posts on its official website.

 SSC Scientific Assistant

It is Group B post in IMD and is a combination of scientific-cum-Met. Observer Post. It includes lots of work as a meteorologist. The candidate should be a citizen of India or a subject of Nepal or Bhutan, a Tibetan refugee with a bachelor’s degree in science (with physics as one of the subjects)/Computer Science/Information Technology/ Computer Applications or Diploma in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from a recognised institute/university or equivalent.

The candidates should have scored 60% marks or 6.75 CGPA on a 10 point scale. The applicant must have passed Plus II from a recognised board or equivalent in with pysics and mathematics as core subjects.

NOTE: According to a new court ruling those with BTech and BE are also eligible to apply for SSC Scientific Assistant.

Age limit for this post is 30 years. 

Senior Research Fellow (SRF)

To apply for Senior Research Fellow’s position, you need to have a postgraduate degree (MSc/MTech) in Meteorology/ Environmental Sciences or MSc(Agriculture) in Agrometeorology/ Agricultural Physics/Agronomy/Soil Science/Agricultural Statistics or BSc.(Ag) with MCA in Computer Science/ Computer Applications from a recognised university/institution or BTech in Agricultural Engineering/Computer Sciences/Environmental Sciences

Desirable: Candidate with knowledge/experience in meteorological data processing/ remote sensing/GIS/crop simulation modelling preferred.

JOB PROSPECTS

Besides the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), almost all news channels and agencies broadcast daily weather forecasts. Each and every airport has a Met office that requires qualified meteorologists. Private architectural firms also hire Climatologists as consultants while designing large houses, buildings, offices, bridges, flyovers, etc.

Researchers and scientists are employed by meteorological centres and institutes like IITM, Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Indian Air Force, National Remote Sensing Agency, DRDO and ISRO.

 

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The course that will take you through

 To get into an undergraduate course in meteorology, you must have cleared Plus II in science stream. The course would be of three to four-year duration. For pursuing a Diploma in Meteorology, Class X is the major qualification.

For pursuing BSc or BTech on Meteorology, Class XII in Science stream/ Diploma in Meteorology will be required.

Candidates need to quality national-level entrance tests like JEE Main/ JEE Advanced or state-level engineering entrance exams to get admission.

Many institutes offer MTech/ MSc through a valid GATE score.

You can get into a  master’s course and then linearly progress to a PhD programme in meteorology.