DATE2025.12.05 #Awards & Prizes

The Indian Meteorological Society (IMS) has selected Professor Emeritus Toshio Yamagata as an Honorary Fellow.

Emeritus Professor Toshio Yamagata

Professor Emeritus Toshio Yamagata has been awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the Indian Meteorological Society. This prestigious distinction is presented to individuals from among researchers worldwide who have made outstanding contributions to meteorology and climate science.

Professor Emeritus Yamagata has been leading the world in the research field of tropical climate variations. His outstanding contributions include elucidation of the air-sea interaction mechanisms, through which the El Niño phenomenon in the tropical Pacific evolves, discovery of the Indian Ocean Dipole, a climate mode inherent in the Indian Ocean, as well as the El Niño Modoki phenomenon in the tropical Pacific, all of which are strongly linked to the Indian monsoon and global climate variability.

In addition, he has developed a state-of-the-art climate prediction model and a coastal ocean forecasting model, applying their results to application studies such as crop yield prediction and the early warning of natural hazards. Alongside his research, he has continuously accepted and collaborated with many young talented researchers from India, contributing significantly to the development of the climate science community in India.

These wide-ranging achievements in climate variability research and its societal applications have led to his selection for this Honorary Fellowship. Professor Yamagata has previously received many prestigious awards, including the Award of the Meteorological Society of Japan, the Prize of the Oceanographic Society of Japan, the Sverdrup Gold Medal of the American Meteorological Society, the Medal with Purple Ribbon, the Prince Albert I Medal of the International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, and the Fujihara Award.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations on this honor and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.

Honorary Fellows of the Indian Meteorological Society

(Written by : Yukio Masumoto, Department of Earth and Planetary Science)