Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), has been awarded the 2025 Scientific and Technological Activities Commission Outstanding Service Award by the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The award recognizes his exceptional contributions to advancing tropical cyclone prediction and warning systems in the Indian Ocean region.
Known as the “Cyclone Man of India,” Dr. Mohapatra has been instrumental in improving forecasting accuracy and reducing errors in cyclone track and intensity predictions by up to 25% and landfall errors by 40-70% during 2018-2022 compared to 2013-2017.
A PhD holder in physics, Dr. Mohapatra serves as the third vice president of the United Nations weather agency and India’s Permanent Representative to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). He has also chaired numerous WMO committees, including the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones, and led the implementation of the Severe Weather Forecasting Programme (SWFP) for South Asia.
With 30 years of expertise in meteorology, Dr. Mohapatra’s leadership has significantly enhanced weather forecasting and cyclone warning services for 13 WMO/ESCAP Panel member countries, further solidifying his global contributions to the field.
