navy-hosts-meghayan-25-to-mark-wmo-day-2025

The Indian Navy organised the third edition of its Meteorological and Oceanological Symposium, Meghayan-25, on 14 April 2025. The event marked the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Day and was held at Nausena Bhawan in New Delhi.

 

Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff, inaugurated the symposium virtually. The event brought together a wide range of experts, senior naval officers, and representatives from top meteorological and oceanographic organisations in the country.

 

 

Among the participating institutions were the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Indian Institute for Tropical Meteorology (IITM), the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), and the Indian Air Force. Organisations like ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC), the National Maritime Foundation (NMF), and IIT Madras also joined the event.

 

This year’s symposium theme aligned with WMO Day – “Closing the Early Warning Gap Together”. The technical programme was split into two sessions led by experienced experts.

 

The first session, moderated by Rear Admiral G Rambabu, Principal of the Indian Naval Academy and the Navy’s senior-most Met Officer, focused on the latest advances in Marine Meteorology and Oceanology.

 

The second session, led by Commodore SMU Athar, looked into statistical techniques for weather forecasting. Both sessions included active audience engagement during question-and-answer rounds.

 

A key part of the day was a panel discussion on the theme “Closing the Early Warning Gap Together: Enhancing Maritime Security and Coordination”.

 

This was moderated by Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan (Retd), Director General of the National Maritime Foundation. The session brought valuable insights on strategies to strengthen maritime safety and preparedness.

 

 

The final session of Meghayan-25 was presided over by Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. Other dignitaries present included Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, and Vice Admiral Lochan Singh Pathania, Chief Hydrographer to the Government of India.

 

Dr Nilesh Desai, Director of SAC Ahmedabad, was the Guest of Honour. Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of IMD and Honorary Vice President of the WMO, delivered the Keynote Address.

 

One of the most touching moments of the event was the felicitation of Commodore PI Oommen (Retd), the pioneer of the Navy’s Meteorological specialisation.

 

At 94 years of age, the first Principal Director of Naval Oceanology and Meteorology addressed the audience and shared personal experiences from his long and distinguished career.

 

 

A major highlight was the launch of the Meteorological and Oceanographic Satellite Data Archival Centre - Indian Navy (MOSDAC-IN).

 

This new platform, developed jointly by the Directorate of Naval Oceanology and Meteorology (DNOM) and SAC, offers tailored satellite weather data with individual logins for different naval meteorological offices.

 

The symposium also marked the relaunch of the Navy’s professional journal “Sagarmanthan” after nearly a decade. The 10th edition of the journal was unveiled during the event.