IMD warns against social media influencers, weather vloggers spreading inaccurate information

The Indian Met Department has expressed concern over the rampant spread of misinformation on various social media platforms regarding the very severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy. The storm has become a trending topic, attracting significant attention and engagement. However, the department warns that much of the information being shared may be inaccurate or incomplete, posing potential risks to the public. The proliferation of content related to Biparjoy has become a cause for concern, particularly as social media influencers use it as a means to gain followers.

Sunil Kamble, Head, IMD (Mumbai division) told CNBC TV-18, "We receive various videos and articles talking about important weather events like cyclones, heatwave, cold wave, monsoon and heavy rainfall etc. Biparjoy is one such event. The creators of such content take information from our website, interpret it and put it out on social media. The problem is that these social media influencers neither have the experience nor the expertise to comprehend the available information correctly. As a result they end up spreading half-baked or incorrect information either downplaying a serious situation or creating unnecessary chaos."

This issue is making IMD's job difficult. Sources told CNBC TV-18 that IMD recently approached the central government, requesting the establishment of regulations to tackle this issue. Similar to SEBI's crackdown on unlicensed financial advisors, IMD aims to curb the influence of social media influencers and fake news propagators. IMD believes that issuing guidelines and formulating rules to curb these influencers and fake news proponents will take time till then people should only rely on IMD's official website for correct weather reports.

"Our official website is mausam.gov.in. This is our central website. It has all the information about every weather event, every warning, every advisory and each and every weather development. People should only rely on our website for accurate weather report," Kamble said.

He added that these influencers use old videos and spread misleading or incorrect information.

IMD sources said that social media influencers employ various techniques to enhance their credibility, including the use of pre-determined cyclone names. IMD invites suggestions for cyclone names from India and neighboring countries, and these influencers exploit this information by prematurely naming thunderstorms and smaller weather events with the same names as the upcoming cyclones.

When a system eventually develops into a cyclone with the same name, these influencers appear to have accurate information, even though not all weather events intensify into cyclones.

For ex, the next cyclone is 'Tej'. These influencers use this information and name thunderstorms, western disturbances and other smaller weather events with these names much before a cyclone is formed and officially named. Later, when a system progresses into a cyclone and IMD declares the same name, these influencers end up looking credible. But not every depression, every system intensifies into a cyclone.

As Biparjoy is trending, multiple articles and videos have emerged discussing the storm. CNBC-TV18 came across a portal falsely claiming that Biparjoy would hit the Mumbai coast on June 15, contradicting IMD's official forecast.

As per IMD,  the cyclone is expected to make landfall between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) on the evening of June 15. Additionally, there is a video circulating that incorrectly quotes IMD, confusing wind speed with cyclone speed. The video claims that the cyclone's speed is 135-145 kmph, whereas IMD reports a speed of 12 kmph as of June 13 (afternoon).

IMD emphasised that raising awareness is crucial in addressing this issue and urged the public to only use IMD's official website for weather updates.