According to Chakraborty, weather forecast plays a vital role in the transport sector. "In the aviation sector and for sailing ships, weather forecast is of utmost importance," he added.

Chakraborty said earthquakes had become a major cause for concern, particularly in the wake of the tsunami last December.

"Perhaps the tsunami will not strike India for the next 100 years. But, we will have to be prepared for it. We need to make people aware about natural calamities. What will happen if there is an earthquake in Calcutta with an impact of seven on the Richter scale?

"In Calcutta, there is no general concept of constructing earthquake-resistant houses. These are some of the things we want to highlight in our exhibition on Wednesday to increase awareness," he said.

Visitors to the exhibition will find out how the Met office functions and how weather forecasts are drawn up with the help of radars and satellite pictures on the computer.

Chakraborty said in meteorology, the primary focus is on improved observation and prediction of the state of the earth's atmosphere and water and early warning systems.

"Our accuracy (regarding forecasts) has improved. Progress in remote sensing observations such as radars and satellites, other monitoring facilities and communication have led to significantly improved scientific understanding of the atmosphere and ocean and their interactions with other components of the earth's system," he said.

According to Chakraborty, attempts were on to organise workshops with fishermen in places like Digha and Sagar Island to increase awareness about meteorology. Over the past 10 years, the Bay of Bengal has experienced fewer cyclones. Their incidence has gone up in the Arabian Sea.