Google's latest AI weather model gives you no excuse to forget your umbrella
TechCrunch • • business
Key Points:
- Google DeepMind and Google Research have launched WeatherNext 3, a new AI model for weather forecasting that offers higher resolution (5 km) and hourly predictions, improving rain forecasts by 60% over its predecessor.
- WeatherNext 3 outperforms leading AI models from Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, ECMWF, and traditional forecasts from the U.S. National Weather Service and ECMWF on metrics like temperature, windspeed, and humidity.
- The model uniquely incorporates raw weather satellite data in real time, enabling faster and more accurate forecasts, and it targets specific weather stations for granular, ground-truth-verified predictions.
- This advancement reflects a broader transformation in meteorology driven by deep learning and transformers, promising faster, cheaper, and more accessible weather forecasts globally, with significant benefits for agriculture and renewable energy.
- Google plans to integrate WeatherNext 3 into its products such as Search, Google Maps, and Gemini, while also making it available to users and researchers via Google Cloud platforms.
