What happened: NCMRWF launches WINGS, radar mosaic, and a redesigned open data portal

National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), launched three interconnected tools for weather services: the WINGS mobile application, a National Doppler Weather Radar Reflectivity Mosaic for near-real-time visualization, and a redesigned NCMRWF Open Data Portal. These tools are meant to make numerical weather prediction outputs, mesoscale analysis, radar-based monitoring, and key datasets easier to access and use.

Background and earlier position: NCMRWF’s forecasting and data ecosystems

NCMRWF is known for medium-range weather forecasting and for running operational modelling and analysis systems. Users of meteorological information typically need (1) forecast guidance (from prediction models), (2) situational awareness of evolving weather (from radar and other observations), and (3) datasets for research and impact-relevant studies. Before this launch, NCMRWF already had forecasting and data-related infrastructure; the announced change is about delivering those capabilities more directly through user-facing platforms (mobile app, radar mosaic) and expanding/refreshing datasets through the open portal.

What changed now: features and deliverables

NCMRWF introduced the following components as part of its latest service updates: