New Delhi, March 17 -- To reduce loss of life and property caused by earthquakes, India plans to extend its earthquake warning lead time from a few seconds at present to up to 45 seconds, top experts said.

The country will install 1,200 new seismometers to detect fast-moving, non-destructive primary waves (P-waves) at the onset of an earthquake, enabling alerts to be issued before the slower, more destructive secondary waves (S-waves) reach a location, Krishna S. Vatsa, member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) told Mint.

The country currently has about 300 seismometers at earthquake monitoring stations for detection, early warning capability and scientific understanding of seismic activity.

Scientists and disaster ma...