Forecasts way off as fog blinds Met

During the past two weeks, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) seemed to have consistently released wrong forecasts, especially on the fog cover over the Capital. Prediction dilemma

During the past two weeks, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) seemed to have consistently released wrong forecasts, especially on the fog cover over the Capital.

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For instance, Wednesday was supposed to see dense fog in the morning between 4.30am and 9.00am. But the fog cleared by 6.00am. The city Met office later explained that fog is dissipating more quickly this year.

"Sunshine and wind are affecting the fog this time and, hence, the quick changes. Our prediction on fog has been accurate, but the timing is a little difficult to judge," said BP Yadav, director, weather forecasting, Met department.

While IMD made wrong predictions, especially about fog, consistently over the past two weeks, international websites, such as wunderground.com and the BBC, have been more accurate in their predictions.

"We are not going entirely wrong with the predictions. Wednesday saw dense fog at the airport, but only on one runway. Other websites don't give the visibility on runways which we do. Theirs is a generic forecast, not specific like ours," said RK Jenamani, director in-charge, IGI Met office.