Being a land with a unique climatic regime, including two monsoon seasons, two cyclone seasons, hot and cold weather seasons, cold waves and fog, India is vulnerable to several extreme weather events. A spatio-temporal analysis of these weather extremes is extremely essential to help understand India’s vulnerability potential, and hence minimise the adverse impacts on the population.

Cyclone Phailin crossed into Odisha and adjoining northern Andhra Pradesh near Gopalpur on October 12, 2013. India Meteorological Department (IMD) accurately predicted the genesis, intensity, track and point and time of landfall well in advance. As a result, the loss of human lives due to the cyclone was reduced to just 22 persons.