Director General of Meteorology, India Meteorological Department, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra was awarded the United Nations Sasakawa Award 2025 for Disaster Risk Reduction on Friday.
Mohapatra, also known as the “Cyclone Man of India”, has been instrumental in making scientific forecasting accessible to vulnerable populations, thereby saving countless lives and minimizing disaster impacts across the country.
He pioneered impact-based forecasting, tailoring warnings for farmers, fishermen, infrastructure, and disaster managers and this people-centric approach brought accuracy, clarity, and trust for the meteorological Department.
His significant work in minimizing deaths due to cyclones over the north Indian Ocean region not only remained specific to the country but also to 13 WMO/ESCAP Panel member countries bordering the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
Notably, the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee (TC) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1968 under the auspices of ESCAP and WMO, whose mission is to integrate and enhance regional (meteorological, hydrological, and disaster risk reduction) activities of Members within international frameworks to reduce the loss of lives and minimize social, economic, and environmental impacts by typhoon-related disasters.
The United Nations Sasakawa Award is the most prestigious international recognition in the field of disaster risk reduction which was established in 1986 with the support of The Nippon Foundation.