How India’s independent weathermen are taking the internet by storm

Traditional weather forecasting by India’s meteorological department has often been ridiculed because of its wrong predictions and briefings full of jargon that ordinary citizens cannot understand.

He receives queries from a diverse group of people – from factory operators interested in wind direction for ventilation to farmers waiting for rain before planting seedlings.

“We give out information in much simpler and relatable terms, and we explain the reasons behind certain weather,” Subramanian, a wedding and corporate photographer by profession, said.

Chennai-based Balakrishna Shankar, vice-president of a PR company, started following weather bloggers religiously after Indian meteorological officials failed to predict the heavy rain in Chennai in 2015 that led to massive floods killing more than 200 people.

“Independent weather bloggers had predicted at least 25cm rainfall while the met department had only issued a red alert, which didn’t give out clear warnings on how much rainfall was expected,” Shankar said. “Plus, there were no live updates on the met department website, and we had to wait for television interviews, which were mostly recorded much before real-time.”

Similarly, in 2021, the Chennai met department failed to predict heavy rainfall because two weather radars were under maintenance. Last year, it was criticised heavily by the Tamil Nadu state government for failing to forecast heavy rain that again led to floods in December. State Chief Minister MK Stalin said the “red” alert for rains was issued after the downpour started.

In Kolkata, an eight-member photographer team, Kolkata Cloud Chasers, has been tracking and hunting down storms. Last month, they travelled nearly 70km to Gurap, chasing clouds that could