In a significant recognition of India’s leadership in disaster risk management, Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), has been conferred the United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025. Mohapatra hails from Bhadrak in Odisha.

After earning M. Sc. (Physics) and Ph.D (Physics) degrees, he started his career at the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Chandipur, Odisha as a Junior Scientific Assistant in 1988. He also worked as a lecturer in Physics at D. K. College, Jaleswar, Balasore for a brief period from 1990 to 1992. 

Mohapatra joined India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune in 1992 as Meteorologist Gr. II Trainee and became Director of Regional Meteorological Centre, IMD, Guwahati in 2004. He took charge as the Director General of Meteorology, IMD, New Delhi in 2019.

Often hailed as India’s ‘Cyclone Man’, Dr. Mohapatra revolutionized how weather warnings are disseminated, by tailoring them to the needs of farmers, coastal dwellers, fishermen, and emergency responders. His introduction of impact-based forecasting has been a game-changer in making critical information both accessible and actionable.