Science and Modern India

CHAPTER 14

The Role of the India Meteorological Department, 1875–1947

D.R. Sikka^*

The development of meteorology in India from ancient to modern times is a fascinating subject. In this chapter, we are concerned mainly with the development of the science of meteorology in the scientific era between the mid-seventeenth century to the mid- twentieth century. Scientific measurements began with the master-mariners of the era of sailing ships, who carried with them meteorological instruments and carefully recorded observations (in their ship logs) of winds, currents, surface pressure and temperature. The observations slowly extended over the land by the beginning of the nineteenth century. The system of meteorological observations in India began ...