AI experts forecast faster and more accurate weather reports

A single researcher with a desktop computer could be able to deliver accurate weather forecasts using artificial intelligence tens of times faster than conventional systems, scientists said yesterday.

- Rachel Hall Ian Sample

Predictions are currently generated through a complex set of stages, each taking several hours on supercomputers that require the skills of large teams of experts.

But Aardvark Weather, an AI predictions system, would replace the entire process through rapid analysis of data from weather stations, satellites, weather balloons, ships and planes. This offers the potential for vast improvements in speed, accuracy and cost, according to research published yesterday in the science journal Nature.

Aardvark is being developed by the University of Cambridge with support from the Alan Turing Institute, Microsoft Research and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting.