Google’s DeepMind just released WeatherNext 2, a new version of its AI weather prediction model. The company promises that it “delivers more efficient, more accurate and higher-resolution global weather predictions.” To that end, it should be able to provide accurate forecasts up to two weeks out, including information on temperature, pressure and wind.
It should also be able to better predict tropical storm tracks, according to researchers. This means that predictions of a hurricane’s path should be accurate up to three days out. The previous model only predicted things up to two days ahead of the storm.
The model also brings hourly forecasts into the mix. All told, Google says this new model is eight times faster than the previous iteration. This should help businesses like energy traders make more precise decisions, according to a report by Bloomberg.
“It gives you a more granular forecast,” DeepMind AI researcher Akib Uddin said. “Many other industries are quite interested in these one-hour steps. It helps them make more precise decisions. Their goal is, how can they make their business more resilient to weather?”
The improvements here stem from a new approach to weather models, as explained in this recently-published research paper. Older methods demanded the use of machine learning models that were built for image and video generation. This required repeated processing to ensure an accurate result. The new model only requires a single processing step, which also reduces reliance on costly AI computing systems.
AI may not be great at everything, despite what proponents want you to believe, but it is great at predicting the weather. Newer models typically outperform traditional prediction methods, even those that rely on supercomputers.
These models aren’t perfect, however, as even Google has acknowledged that WeatherNext 2 will likely struggle to predict outlier rain and snow events. This is due to gaps in the training data. “It’s one limitation of our forecast, but one that we are working on improving,” DeepMind research scientist Ferran Alet told Bloomberg.
AI weather prediction is becoming a crowded field. Companies like NVIDIA, Microsoft, AccuWeather and Huawei are all throwing their hats in the ring in one way or another.
