June 2023 was the planet’s warmest June on record. Above-average temperatures swept through countries, including India, Thailand, and Canada. Extreme heat in Mexico caused more than 100 deaths, while Beijing recorded its hottest June day. July brought no relief, with a wave of deadly floods across Asia and heat waves in the US. The temperatures in the Middle East are rising almost twice as fast as compared to the rest of the world, a recent study revealed. Without a doubt, these high temperatures will have far-reaching consequences for the health, well-being and economic development of the region.
These events highlight the growing risk to humanity posed by extreme weather patterns. With the increased frequency and intensity of such extreme weather events, we must find better techniques to predict and prepare for them and mitigate their impacts.
AI, coupled with cloud computing capabilities, is a powerful ally in this quest. It can crunch vast amounts of data, spot patterns, and generate insights to help us better understand and predict the weather. Traditional weather models use physical equations and observations from satellites, radars, and sensors. But these models have their limits: they are not very accurate, detailed, or scalable. They also fail to capture the complex and chaotic behavior of our atmosphere.
AI overcomes these limitations by employing large neural networks that can learn from historical and real-time data and generate reliable forecasts that account for uncertainty and variability. AI can also integrate multiple sources of information, such as satellite imagery, social media posts, and crowd-sourced data, to provide a more comprehensive picture of the weather situation. These unique capabilities highlight the need to bring in technology players as key stakeholders in addressing the climate emergency.
Thanks to innovation in data storage, diversified computing, and cloud services, global tech companies can facilitate the shift towards the digital transformation of all sectors. This shift is paving the way for building a fully intelligent world where AI can play a transformative role in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, paving the way to more advantages for the future of humanity.