GS3PIB · Current Affairs
Rollout of Weather Information Network and Data System (WINDS) for hyperlocal weather data under agriculture risk management
WINDS rollout of Automatic Weather Stations and Automatic Rain Gauges for hyperlocal data under agriculture risk management
SP
Samachar Pathshala Desk
Published 25 Jul 2026 · 1 min
Key takeaways
- WINDS is a Government initiative to generate long-term hyperlocal weather data for crop insurance, agriculture advisories, and disaster risk resilience needs.
- WINDS deploys Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) and Automatic Rain Gauges (ARGs) as its core sensing instruments.
- WINDS has been adopted by Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
What happened
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is rolling out the Weather Information Network and Data System (WINDS) to generate long-term hyperlocal weather data for crop insurance, agriculture advisories, and disaster risk resilience. WINDS builds a national network of Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) and Automatic Rain Gauges (ARGs).
Background and earlier position
The UPSC angle
GS3GS1
Hydromet data infrastructure for agriculture risk management
WINDS is a data-infrastructure programme: UPSC can test how hyperlocal, long-term weather observations feed crop insurance design, farm advisories, and disaster risk planning, and what implementation gaps may arise when installation and commissioning lag behind approvals.
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