LONDON: Technology company IBM said on Thursday it will launch a new weather forecasting system which will be able to predict conditions up to 12 hours in advance and cover parts of the world which have not had access to such detailed data.

Demand for very precise and quicker weather forecasts has grown as more extreme conditions increase due to climate change and as more variable renewable energy goes to the grid.

The system, known as IBM GRAF — the Global High-Resolution Atmospheric Forecasting System — will run on a supercomputer and provide more detailed and higher quality forecasts.

Previously, this kind of precise forecasting has been available in the US, Japan and some west European countries.

IBM’s new day-ahead forecasting system will provide data to cover the world, including Asia, Africa and South America, some of the regions most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, the company said.

“The enhanced forecasts could be revolutionary for some areas of the world, such as for a rural farmer in India or Kenya,” said Cameron Clayton, head of The Weather Company, a subsidiary of IBM.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2019