New Delhi: The loud siren suddenly rings. Phones vibrate across offices, homes, classrooms, and public spaces. For a brief moment, many people fear a major emergency.
Then they read the notification.
Thunderstorm warning.
Heavy rain expected.
Strong winds likely.
Over the past few weeks millions of residents across Delhi NCR have received repeated emergency weather alerts on their mobile phones. While the technology behind these warnings is being praised as a major step forward in India’s disaster preparedness system, experts are raising concerns that frequent alerts could create a new problem: people may eventually stop paying attention.
India’s emergency alert system is powered by a network developed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT). At its core is the SACHET platform, which uses Cell Broadcast technology to instantly send alerts to mobile phones connected to specific cell towers.
Unlike SMS messages these alerts do not require internet access and can reach millions of users simultaneously, even when networks are congested during disasters.
The system is designed to save lives during emergencies such as earthquakes, cyclones, floods, lightning strikes, tsunamis, industrial accidents, and other severe threats where every second matters.
However, many recent alerts have been issued for routine weather advisories rather than life threatening emergencies. Residents have reported receiving loud notifications at various times of the day, even when weather conditions appeared normal in their immediate surroundings.
Experts say this could lead to a phenomenon known as “alert fatigue”.
Alert fatigue occurs when people receive frequent warnings, especially for events that do not directly affect them. Over time, they may begin ignoring notifications that once commanded immediate attention.
Environmentalist and climate expert Dikshu C Kukreja says the effectiveness of any public warning system depends not only on technology but also on public trust.
“Every public warning system operates on a finite reserve of public attention. The success of such systems is not measured by how many alerts they issue, but by whether citizens instinctively trust and act upon them when it matters most,” he said.
According to Kukreja, once urgency becomes routine, it loses its ability to motivate action during genuine crises.
Technology experts share similar concerns. Anupam Shrey, founder of Plutas.ai, described India’s cell broadcast rollout as an important achievement but warned that relevance and accuracy are essential for maintaining public confidence.
“The goal should not be to send more alerts, but to send the right alert to the right people at the right time,” he said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), however, defends the use of weather alerts, arguing that they provide valuable information to citizens and are often misunderstood.
IMD scientist C.S. Patil explained that forecasts are issued at the district level and cannot always predict conditions within a small geographic area.
“Alerts are issued for an entire district. Rainfall and weather impacts can vary significantly from one location to another,” he said.
Patil also stressed that many people fail to read the details contained in weather advisories, which clearly indicate whether rainfall is expected to be light, moderate, or heavy.
Beyond disaster preparedness, weather forecasts also help farmers, fishermen, transport operators, and the general public make daily decisions, he added.
Several experts believe the solution lies in creating clearer categories for alerts rather than reducing warnings altogether.
Dr Kanishk Agrawal, Chief Technology Officer at Judge Group India, says emergency communication systems should distinguish between informational notices, advisories, watches, and emergency warnings.
Using the same disruptive notification for both routine weather updates and severe emergencies could weaken public responsiveness when real danger arises, he warned.
Kumar Rajagopalan, Country Head India at Dexian, pointed out that many countries already use multiple alert levels to indicate varying degrees of risk. He believes the most intrusive notifications should remain reserved for situations involving immediate threats to life and safety.
The debate highlights a challenge faced by emergency management systems worldwide. While modern technology allows authorities to reach millions of people within seconds, maintaining public trust is equally important.
Experts agree that India’s disaster alert infrastructure is a major advancement. But they also caution that if people become accustomed to dismissing warnings, the consequences could be serious when a genuine emergency strikes.
As climate change increases the frequency of extreme weather events finding the right balance between informing the public and preserving the impact of emergency alerts may become one of the biggest challenges for disaster communication authorities in the years ahead.