Help & glossary
How IMD's data works on मौसम.live — terms, coverage, and what each card means.
District forecast vs. city forecast
IMD issues warnings and rainfall data per administrative district (a region containing many cities and villages). For cities without their own weather station, the district forecast is the most local data IMD publishes.
What is a weather observation station?
A weather observation station takes regular surface meteorological observations following WMO standards. IMD operates ~440 such stations across India; their data is reported to the WMO Global Telecommunications System.
What is the 3-hour nowcast?
IMD's nowcast is a short-range forecast covering the next 3 hours, issued at district or station resolution. It flags rain, thunderstorm, lightning, and dust-storm probability. When no significant weather is expected, the upstream feed reports 'No weather'.
What is QPF?
QPF (Quantitative Precipitation Forecast) is IMD's prediction of how many millimeters of rainfall a given basin or sub-basin will receive over the next 5 days. The forecast is issued by IMD's regional flood meteorological office (FMO).
Why are some forecasts by basin instead of city?
Hydrological forecasts are most useful at the watershed (basin) level. Cumulative QPF across a basin tells flood-risk officials how much water will enter the basin's rivers — that's a different question from 'will it rain on me at noon'.
What is a port signal?
IMD's port-signal scale runs from 1 (distant cautionary) to 11 (great danger across), warning ships and harbour masters about cyclones, storms, and dangerous weather. Higher numbers indicate worse conditions.
When are port warnings updated?
IMD issues port warnings twice daily for ports with active marine-weather concerns. When no warning is active (most ports most of the time), the page shows 'No active warning'.
Why does some city not have its own live observation?
IMD's live point-observation network has ~440 stations — far fewer than India has cities. When a city's nearest reporting station is more than 100 km away, मौसम.live falls back to the parent district's data (warnings, rainfall, nowcast) rather than misrepresenting a distant station as the city's own reading.