BHUBANESWAR: The state government has decided to prepare an action plan for a lightning safe Odisha, Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said.
Speaking at the two-day national workshop on ‘Lightning-Safe Odisha : Action Plan 2027 and Roadmap 2027–2030’, Pujari said the action plan will provide a clear framework for coordinated action in key areas, including lightning forecasting, risk reduction, public awareness, dissemination of early warnings and emergency response.
Stating that lightning has emerged as a significant disaster in terms of its impact and extent of damage, Pujari said OSDMA has been making sustained efforts to address this challenge and reduce lightning-related deaths and losses. He expressed confidence that the initiative would further strengthen Odisha’s capacity in disaster risk reduction.
Director general of IMD Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the workshop deliberated on improving lightning detection, monitoring and forecasting through integration of satellite data, numerical weather prediction, emerging applications of AI and panchayat-level decision-support systems. Such workshops would help make existing mechanisms more effective, he said.
OSDMA MD Rajesh Prabhakar Patil said the objective was to strengthen lightning forecasting, risk assessment, dissemination of early warnings and public safety measures.