COMK bloggers noticed that most of the questions they received revolved around the specifics of the rain forecast, particularly during the monsoon
| Photo Credit: UMESH KUMAR V
The Northeast monsoon may bring larger concerns – floods, reservoirs’ storage and crop prospects, but for people, it also prompts simpler questions — will it rain today?
It is everyday questions such as these that ‘Ask COMK’, a chatbot created by Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikalam (Chennai Rains), a city-based weather platform, seeks to answer by bringing weather information closer to the decisions that people make in their daily lives.
The seed for the concept was sown when COMK weather bloggers noticed that most of the questions they received revolved around the specifics of the rain forecast particularly during the monsoon- will it rain in my area? Should I carry an umbrella?
‘Ask COMK’ has been designed to answer simple daily questions on elevated temperatures, rains and weather systems near the coast. Users have to feed their area pincode and choose between rainfall and temperature forecasts to get answers. They can also use prompt questions provided on the weblink for convenience.
K. Srikanth, who blogs with COMK and created ‘Ask COMK’, said the simple-to-use weblink, https://plots.chennairains.com/ask.html, provides a probability and context for the prediction, leaving it to users to make their own judgement based on the output.
The chatbot uses inputs from eight weather models and IMD radar information, particularly for forecasts for the next few hours. ‘Ask COMK’ provides answers on weather forecasts for up to one week. “I have mapped nearly 6,500 pin codes across South India for the weather information. But it may not have answers for more complex questions like when will the monsoon set in,” he said.
Next on the list is another most relatable question- can I dry clothes, which would be available online in a few days. Quirky answers are being prepared for questions like ‘Will there be sunshine today?’
“Ask COMK has received about 6,000 questions in the past four days since it was made available,” Mr. Srikanth said.
Published – October 08, 2026 12:41 am IST
