---

 The need of starting a meteorological service in the country was first brought to the notice by the Asiatic Society of Bengal. The Indian Meteorological Department was started under the Government of India in 1688 with its headquarter at Pune. At present the headquarter is located in Delhi.

In India the meterological observatories are normally classified into five categories. Observations are taken in these observatories transmit the data to the central observatory at Pune twice a day for forecasting.