New Delhi, Feb 20 (.) M. Ravichandran, Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), on Friday underscored the need for a paradigm shift in meteorological science, advocating the strategic integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with traditional physics-based models to address the growing unpredictability of climate extremes.
Speaking at a high-level panel discussion titled “Harnessing AI to Manage Climate Extremes and Build Sustainable Systems” on the final day of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, Ravichandran said that while conventional numerical weather models remain strong in broad spatial forecasting, AI is critical for mastering time-series analysis and capturing hyper-local weather variability.
Using a vivid metaphor to illustrate the evolving complexity of climate science, he remarked: “Earlier, we just had to track the ‘elephant’, the large-scale weather systems. But today, because of climate change, we need to track the ‘ant’ sitting on that elephant. We must understand both the large spatial movements and the hyper-local time series.”
He explained that physics-based numerical models are effective for large-scale spatial mapping but often rely on assumptions that introduce forecasting errors. AI, he noted, can help minimise these errors, refine initial conditions, and significantly enhance predictive accuracy, particularly for high-impact events such as cloudbursts, which remain notoriously difficult to forecast.
Ravichandran also proposed that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) should open up its extensive 150-year data archive to young researchers and multidisciplinary experts to accelerate innovation in climate analytics.
Concluding his address, he urged the scientific community to break free from departmental silos. “We shouldn’t think in isolation. We need biologists, data scientists, and experts from multiple disciplines to examine our datasets from diverse perspectives. A collaborative, data-driven approach is the only way forward to build a climate-resilient India,” he said.
. MBJ SAS