About Us

Introduction

Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) is both is both a scientific and a service department, and functions under the Cabinet Secretariat (Aviation Division). PMD is responsible for providing meteorological service throughout Pakistan to wide variety of interest and for numerous public activities and project which require climatic information.

Apart from Meteorology, the department is also extending services in the fields of Hydrology, Earthquake Seismology and Geomagnetism. PMD operates under World Meteorological Organization (WMO) umbrella as 198 member states of the world and act as National Meteorological and Hydrological Service of Pakistan. WMO has divided the globe in to 8 meteorological region and Pakistan lies in Region #2 known as Regional Association II (RA-II) which includes Asia and Pacific. Director General of PMD is vice president of RA-II and permanent Representative of Pakistan.

Objectives

Main Objective are to provide information on weather, climate and geophysical phenomenon with the aim of traffic safety in air, on land and sea, mitigation of disasters, agriculture development based on climatic potential of the country, climate change, impact assessment, future projection of climate and adaptation options in different sectors.

Responsibilities

In pursuance of its objectives and responsibilities, the department is contributing in:

  • Aviation Meteorology Services.
  • Hydro-Meteorological Services and flood forecasting.
  • Agro-meteorological services.
  • Climatological Services.
  • Geophysical and Seismological Services.
  • Weather forecasting Services to public through electronic and print news media.
  • Astronomical Information Services.
  • Met-forecast for mountaineering expedition
  • Marine Meteorological Services.
  • Climatological data processing for scrutinizing, comparing and publishing
  • Safety of civil, armed forces aviation operations, VVIP flights and marine activities
  • Early Warning of natural hazards such a Tropical cyclones, Heavy Rains, Heat Waves, Flood & Earthquakes etc
  • Astronomical information like sighting of moon, solar and lunar eclipse.
  • Glacier Monitoring and Research.
  • Glacier Lakes Outbrust Flood (GLOF) warnings

History

The Pakistan Meteorological Department, at the time of its establishment in 1947, inherited Only 15 Meteorological Observation (8 in East Pakistan and 7 in West Pakistan) form the central Meteorological Organization then operating in the Subcontinent, The Department with its continuous efforts has expanded the network of meteorological observatories, developing telecommunication facilities and improved forecasting techniques.

The major achievements of the Department are introduction of modern flood prediction system, computerized weather forecasting system, earthquake and nuclear explosion detection system, incorporating radar, satellite, information technology, flight safety, consultancy services in seismic design of dams, building and other development and disaster relief schemes.

The Department has also played vital role in research work and its scientific have made valuable contribution. More than 350 scientific papers have been written and published in both national and international scientific journals. Major emphasis in the research has been laid on the field of climate change, Glaciology, renewable energy, arid zone research, ozone measurement, drought monitoring, Climate Modeling, Monsoon onset, solar energy, wind power potential, satellite meteorological and allied fields.

Many of the Research Organizations such as Arid Zone Research Institute (AZRI), Space and Upper Atmospheric Corporation (SUPARCO), and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) started their functioning with the initial assistance of the Pakistan Meteorological Department Meteorological services are extended on regular basis to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Federal Flood Commission (FFC), Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), National Disaster Management authority (NDMA), Climate change Division, Ministry of Religious Affairs and National food Security.

Structure

Pakistan Meteorological Department is headed by Director General. Functionally, it is composed of following four major division with head office located at Islamabad and Camp office at Karachi. Each Division is headed by a Chief Meteorologist.