BLANFORD, Henry Francis. Rainfall chart of India, showing th - Lot 59

BLANFORD, Henry Francis. Rainfall chart of India, showing the average annual distribution of the rainfall according to locality and season. Calcutta, 1883/January 1884. 1000 x 960 mm. Folding map in 12 sections backed on canvas. Color lithograph. Fine condition. The introduction of scientific meteorology in India is remarkable. The British were the first to introduce organized meteorology and storm warning systems in India to serve their imperial interests. One of the most prominent British administrators and scientists who introduced scientific meteorology in India was Henry Francis Blanford. After his appointment as Honorary Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1864, he began detailed meteorological experiments in India. He also submitted a report on the 1864 Calcutta cyclone with the help of a colleague. In that report, he recommended installing storm-warning systems at various ports. When the Bengal Provincial Meteorological Office was established in 1867 AD, he was appointed as its Meteorological Reporter. He then undertook to form an all-India organization to collect and impose meteorological data. Finally, his personal initiative and the goodwill of the British Government led to the establishment of the Indian Meteorological Department in 1875. H.F. Blanford was appointed the first Imperial Meteorological Reporter and pioneered scientific meteorology in India. He put forward a plan to unify provincial meteorological systems into an imperial system. He also sketched out general guidelines for conducting meteorological work in India. Apart from bringing changes to the department's administrative and operational procedures, he personally wrote several research articles and books on India's weather and climate. Drawing on his intelligence and diligence, he discovered many unknown facts about India's meteorology. He examined irregularities in seasonal monsoon rainfall, the periodic recurrence of drought, and fluctuations in monsoon rainfall across the plains and foothills. In fact, he introduced the study of tropical meteorology for the first time.