New Delhi, July 8 -- New Delhi: Climate change is making it harder to forecast India's weather with the same lead time, said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of meteorology at the India Meteorological Department (IMD). In an interview, Mohapatra warned that the growing frequency of localized extreme weather events is reducing the predictability of traditional weather patterns.

"If I could earlier predict heavy rainfall three days in advance, now I may only be able to forecast it one and a half days ahead," he said. "That's the impact climate change is having on our systems."

Mohapatra noted that the frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves have risen in India's heat-core zones across north and central India. At the same ti...