Backend infrastructure
Let's now take a look at the kind of backend infrastructure that is required for weather reporting. As far as the BBC is concerned, their weather centre is based in London's BBC Television Centre and produces around 100 forecasts every weekday. This is equivalent to over 22 hours each week for the BBC's national and international channels, including BBC World.

BBC weather reporter Jo Farrow

"The MET office, based in Exeter, provides us up-to-date meteorological data and we have highly skilled and experienced presenters, who present the weather reports for television and radio. As far as the BBC World hourly weather bulletins are concerned, the MET office receives observations on weather conditions from around the globe from the World Meteorological Organisation through satellite and radar imagery. It then uses one of the most powerful computers in the world to run a model of how the Earth's atmosphere is likely to behave. The BBC has a state-of-the-art graphics system which allows forecasters to put together forecast bulletins using all kinds of different charts, stills, animations, video clips, live weather cameras and basic text," explains BBC Weather Centre manager Andrew Lane.

In India, on the other hand, news channels' regular correspondents and reporters across the country don the garb of a weather man in case there is a need to report on some drastic change in weather. A case in point is the recent snow blitz in North India, especially Jammu and Kashmir's capital Srinagar and the surrounding areas. Most news channels had their Srinagar correspondents reporting on the weather conditions there. Reportage was mostly on the current situations of the highways, how people were stranded and about trade and commerce coming to a complete halt. What was missing, though, were the details on the reasons as to why this sudden snow explosion, the heaviest in the last 30 years or so, came in the first place. That is the information that should have been forthcoming from the IMD, broadcasters opine.

Zee News editor Alka Saxena

Says Zee News editor Alka Saxena, "The IMD has a typical government attitude and is very rigid when it comes to providing us with satellite pictures and other critical information. Our reporters can only tell what they see around them but how can they know the exact causes of the weather change and the technicalities involved in the same? These issues are also important as people need to be informed about these things."

Minister of state for science, technology and oceanography Kapil Sibal recently admitted that the IMD was like the police in Bollywood movies - they always arrive after the crime has been committed or when things are under control!

Commenting on the kind of infrastructure required for weather reporting, CNN World Weather Center international weather anchor Femi Oke says, "Computers, computers, computers! They have completely changed and improved the way we forecast. It's now possible to get weather data and forecasts from around the world at the click of a mouse. It never fails to amaze me, how much better forecasters are now with all the technology we have access to."