127 4. Mission Mausam Government of India, Ministry of Earth Sciences has unveiled Mission Mausam: An initiative to Enhance India’s Weather and Climate Forecasting by 2026. It aims to make India ‘Weather Ready’ and ‘Climate Smart’. The mission seeks to exponentially enhance the country’s weather and climate observations, understanding, modelling and forecasting, leading to better, more useful, accurate and timely services. • Mission Mausam will improve forecasts on both spatial and temporal scales and air quality data and help strategize weather management/intervention in the long run. • The mission will incorporate AI/ML and data-driven models, offering improved forecasts and strengthening community resilience to extreme weather events. NCL has to take the services of such advanced weather forecasting method and take actions as the standard operating procedure developed for this very purpose. By adopting these enhanced forecasting services, NCL can improve its operational readiness and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for extreme weather events. 7. Conclusion The present case study demonstrates that increasingly erratic climate patterns, particularly the unprecedented monsoon of 2024, have exposed significant vulnerabilities in opencast mining operations at Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL). Despite meticulous planning and robust infrastructure, extreme rainfall events, likely intensified by climate change, disrupted coal production, compromised safety, and affected logistical continuity. The analysis establishes that forecasting and preparedness strategies based solely on historical climatic data are no longer sufficient. The observed shift towards high-intensity, shortduration rainfall events interspersed with prolonged dry spells necessitates a fundamental recalibration of mine planning and safety protocols. Flooding of mine pits, slope instability, and infrastructure damage highlight the growing operational and geotechnical risks associated with climate extremes. The study calls for a paradigm shift toward proactive, data-driven, and climate-resilient mining strategies to ensure long-term operational safety and sustainability in opencast coal mining. REFERENCES 1. Coal India Limited. (2023). Guidelines on monsoon preparedness and mine safety in opencast mines. Kolkata, India.
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