Farmers in India should be provided with early forecasts of expected variations in the monsoon season in order to reduce crop losses, scientists say.
Farmers in India should be provided with early forecasts of expected variations in the monsoon season in order to reduce crop losses, scientists say.
Researchers at the University of Reading and the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) led the first ever in-depth study into how accurately ECMWF’s latest long-term global weather forecasting system can predict when the summer monsoon will start, and how much rainfall it will bring.
They found the model provided accurate forecasts a month in advance for the timing of the monsoon in India’s major agricultural regions. Providing this information to farmers could help them prepare earlier for unexpected heavy rainfall or extended dry periods, both of which regularly destroy crops in India.
Read more at: University of Reading
