WeatherCast Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

How can weather forecasting for agriculture be truly effective? 🌦️ Experts at @CSEINDIA's National Conclave on Sustainable Food Systems discussed how technology can make weather forecasting more precise, accessible and farmer-friendly, even as data and infrastructure gaps persist. Session highlights: IMD’s WhatsApp advisories now serve over 20 million farmers in 200,000 villages. But nearly half of India’s farmers still lack smartphones, making ground-level support vital. Independent players like @SkymetWeather use AI / ML, IoT and citizen sensors to generate forecasts, that can also predict lightning strikes, flash floods and even aid urban planning. But challenges like limited rural sensor networks to data validation gaps and high computational costs remain. @WeatherCastIN, a climate-tech startup, is building a farmer-owned device network for hyperlocal forecasting. Its AI model features built-in explainability, making predictions transparent and trustworthy. Experts stressed the need to expand network of mini weather stations, increase citizen participation in data generation and breaking data monopolies that restrict innovation. Speakers: Sheshkumar Goroshi from IMD, Mahesh Palawat from Skymet Weather Services, and Darshan Waghela from WeatherCast Solutions.