Reliance Foundation signs MoU with IMD to Support Climate-vulnerable Communities
The Reliance Foundation signed an MoU with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences in New Delhi to improve weather information and improve livelihoods and resilience for climate-vulnerable communities across India.
Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology at IMD, and Jagannatha Kumar, CEO of Reliance Foundation, exchanged the MoU in the presence of key representatives from both organisations and emphasised the importance of engagement among all stakeholders to foster resilience in vulnerable communities.
They also underscored opportunities in new technologies to improve forecasts, early warnings and agro-advisories with data-driven insights for the benefit of end users.
The partnership aims to strengthen joint efforts, including research to assess the impact of forecasting and early warning services and organizing convenings of different stakeholders to discuss climate change adaptation, weather forecasting, resilient agriculture, and early warning communication strategies.
The collaboration would help spread awareness and safety, the information related to adverse weather conditions, with particular emphasis on resilient livelihoods and personal safety for the vulnerable communities, even with partial access to technology, stated an official release. Information will be simplified for actionable communication.
Reliance Foundation is committed to contributing to the global 'Early Warning for All' initiative by WMO and UNDRR, among others. This initiative aims to ensure that life-saving information about climate events reaches everyone.
The release stated that through the partnership with IMD and other key stakeholders, Reliance Foundation aims to enhance the utilization of weather data, disaster preparedness, and climate resilience, ultimately improving personal safety and livelihoods across India.
For over a decade, Reliance Foundation has actively disseminated IMD's weather forecasts, early warning advisories and weather-based agro-livestock guidance through multiple communication channels.
Reliance Foundation has often collected ground-level feedback from the communities, and with the help of scientists insights from the ground helped to inform research and refine further work. These efforts will support millions of smallholder farmers, livestock keepers, micro-entrepreneurs, and fisherfolk, especially people in multi-hazard locations.