EARLY THIS year, when information and technology behemoth IBM announced that its Weather Company had created a powerful new global weather forecasting system, it evoked hope and fear at the same time. The company claims that its new Global High-Resolution Atmospheric Forecasting System, or graf, will provide the “most accurate local weather forecasts ever seen worldwide” and can predict something as small as thunderstorms or as fickle as tropical cyclones that keep meteorologists on their toes till making the landfall.
Every day at Weather Company’s office in Brookhaven, in US’ state of Georgia, some 600 meteorologists, data analysts and a supercomputer analyse weather-related information gathered by governments and intergovernmental agencies through their weather stations, sophisticated radars, aeroplanes and spy satellites, and feed those into graf. To ensure that the forecasts reflect localised and near-real-time atmospheric, land and oceanic conditions, the team also harnesses data from some 270,000 personal weather stations (PWS) run by weather enthusiasts across the world and from hundreds of millions of smartphones, whose “pressure” and “location” sensors keep relaying data even as the user is on the move, talking or taking a nap. These data are then processed by the artificial intelligence-powered graf to issue 12 trillion pieces of forecast information for virtually every 3 sq km patch of the globe on an hourly basis. By comparison, the best available government or intergovernmental models have a resolution of 13 sq km and can update forecasts only once in every six hours.
“The information we generate and distribute consists of observations (realtime and historical), short- and longterm, seasonal and impact-based information, such as how crop yields or power generation will be impacted by weather,” says Kevin Petty, director of science and forecast operations at IBM.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara