IMD starts daily forecast and alerts in local languages

The initiative places informal worker collectives, who are among the most affected by extreme heat, at the heart of climate resilience efforts, said IMD

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday announced that they have started sharing daily forecasts and heatwave alerts – simplified and translated into local languages – with informal worker associations through Whatsapp groups. These will then be displayed on signboards across the city in order to make them more inclusive and accessible. This was announced in a workshop held by IMD in collaboration with Greenpeace India and various informal worker organisations.

These will then be displayed on signboards across the city in order to make them more inclusive and accessible. (Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

In a press release, IMD stated that they aim to enable informal workers such as street vendors, gig workers, and daily wage labourers to act as frontline communicators of weather alerts, in order to develop an early warning system at the grassroots level. “The initiative places informal worker collectives, who are among the most affected by extreme heat, at the heart of climate resilience efforts.” said IMD.

Mrityunjay Mohapatra, the Director General of Meteorology at IMD, said at the event that they wish to combine the traditional knowledge of informal workers and the scientific knowledge provided by the IMD. “What happens in a vegetable market, what happens during rickshaw pulling, what protections should be taken - only you can decide that properly, not us.” he said, adding that IMD is ready to provide the workers with whatever information they need.

The heads of the multiple worker associations present at the event were given alterable signboards by Mohapatra, which will display the information sent by IMD in the whatsapp groups. “These are a prototype. We have circulated a few, but this will be spearheaded by the vendors. They will pitch in money and suggest alternatives depending on material, the size of their shops, and other factors.” said Amruta S.N., who is a part of the climate and energy scheme at Greenpeace India.

Representatives of these groups also spoke at the event on how their occupations affected their experiences in the heat, and the ways in which they could help spread information regarding the weather, heatwaves, and precautionary measures.

Sandeep Verma from the India Hawker Alliance said that street vendors can be extremely useful for spreading awareness to the public. “Street vendors are constantly in contact with the public. They can inform people about upcoming weather events, and help people in times of emergency. If someone has a heatstroke on the road, the street vendor is closest to them,” he said.

Members of groups representing domestic workers, trash pickers, gig workers, also spoke on the same. The workshop had sessions on weather measurements and data, heat protection measures, and the role of the workers in spreading awareness. Mohapatra thanked the workers for giving IMD an opportunity to work with them and hoped that it can fulfill their needs.