Can AI models reliably forecast extreme weather events?
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A meteorologist in Kolkata, India, highlights the approaching Cyclone Dana in October 2024.Credit: Rupak De Chowdhuri/NurPhoto via Getty
Improvements in weather forecasting rank high among science’s success stories of the twentieth century1. Back in the 1970s, there were four tropical cyclones that killed tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people, whereas today these storms rarely cause more than a few dozen deaths.
It was also in the 1970s that there was a turning point, when meteorological agencies around the world started adopting physics-based numerical weather-prediction models. These simulate the atmosphere by feeding worldwide observational data into equations grounded in the fundamental laws of motion and thermodynamics. The resulting improvements in forecast accuracy enabled timely evacuation and adequate preparation before a storm hit.
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